Is is right or the BBC to sell its programs to us?

[dosxuk]

Nope the BBC are selling THROUGH commercial vendors because they do not have the infrastructure to do so themselves.

 

Except they do. BBC Worldwide operate numerous commercial offerings, both to the public in the UK and to other organisations and broadcasters worldwide.

 

 

This may well change as they sell more and more of their content.

 

The BBC aren't selling these podcasts, they're just indicating where you can buy them from - other companies who have bought the material off the BBC.

 

However they have the technology already in place to limit the free access to UK residence, so their move to selling the content is a marked change from their current position.

 

It's not. The BBC have made old programmes available to the public at a cost for decades. I've got numerous programmes on VHS / cassette tape at my parents house from when I was younger which are official BBC products.

[syne]

Same here - pretty sure I still have a BBC made Blue Peter album from the very early 80's

 

28 September 1928– First publication of the Radio Times listings magazine (price 2d)

 

I can't find the first time they sold a radio or tv broadcast to the public though.

[Nagel]

How would you validate it in a manner which can't be easily shared?

 

Furthermore, the rights that the BBC purchases to broadcast copyrighted material is almost always geographically based, and the licence fee covers the use of that material in the UK / Ireland. The owners of the rights don't care if someone in India is actually a UK resident on holiday, they will still charge as if it is someone in India watching - this is what the fee to watch on the "overseas iPlayer" is there to cover, not the original production of the programme.

 

Everyone who watches a legal copy of a BBC programme abroad, even if they have paid for a licence in the UK, is costing the BBC extra money which would otherwise be spent on celebs programmes.

 

All I know is that the BBC are interested in making an international iPlayer. I presume they will validate users in the same way any pay-site does. I don't see any problem with offering free membership along with every UK TV licence sold.