BBC Strikes Deal With YouTube

twofish writes "Google's YouTube video site will soon be showing content from the BBC in a deal announced today. Auntie Beeb's content will be spread across three different channels, one for news and two for entertainment programmes. Content will include adverts, and clips from shows such as "Top Gear," "The Mighty Boosh," and nature shows narrated by David Attenborough. The deal is likely to be controversial, particularly since the BBC is paid for by a compulsory tax system (the license fee) rather than through advertising or subscription. The article goes on to say that they won't be 'hunting down' people that upload their content to YouTube. Just the same, they reserve the right to take down or remove programmes that have run on their channels which might damage relationships; examples might be football offerings or 'edited' shows."

heads up

[tomstdenis]

BBC resells the programming to other countries. Like I get BBC World here in Canada (and BBC-K on one of them digital channels). I'm sure my they make money off that. While BBC is paid for by the tax, it's supplemented by the resell royalties.

I should add that I hate BBC World taunts of Top Gear "Not Available In North America" bullshit. hehehehe. Though it is nice to get sports/news from a diff part of the world.

Tom

Re:A compulsory Tax system

[Gibsnag]

Or if you don't have an aerial (unless thats what you meant). My friend's family owns a TV for DVDs, but doesn't own an aerial (they live in a secluded hamlet in a valley, I'm not sure if they even get reception). They had an inspector call around because of their lack of a television license but once they showed him that they didn't have an aerial he buggered off.

Can they use this on their news site?

[theurge14]

Perhaps we will get more choices of BBC news video to watch than in RealPlayer format.

I only ask this because I believe RealPlayer is Satan's media player.

Re:A compulsory Tax system

[SenseiLeNoir]

Well IF you have a TV tuner, and you have not paid the License, you are breaking the law. FACT.

You may not AGREE to the Licensing laws, but they are law, and if you break them, you will expect to be prosecuted.

The fact that you can "politely tell the inspector to 'fuck off'" is a method use for GENUINE people who DON'T have a tuner, to not be bugged insistently by the inspector. For example, an inspector can't just continuously bug a person, just because he or she THINKS you have a TV, there is a due process involving getting a warrant, before searching private property. Sure it does make it a little harder to enforce, but it does help prevent abuse by the Agency, or a particular Inspector trying to make his name.

The whole system is ludicrous, outdated and monstrously inefficient. We would be much better served if an independent body determined an appropriate level of funding for the BBC year-on-year, and the money came from general taxation.

Highly Hypocritical, here you are, boasting away that you didn't pay for your license, you took advantage of certain "rights" (need for a warrant before a search), in order to not get caught, then talk about the "poor" who cannot get away with it, like you do.

And you wonder why its all inefficient, and pointless, and then later you probably complain when we loose essential freedoms, such as the right to request a warrant, and then before we know it, there will be further privacy implications as the Government tries new invasive stuff, to catch people like you, and make the system efficient.

No, the system would work, if people like YOU don't try to scam it, and instead be honest.

Re:A compulsory Tax system

[SonnyJimATC]

As the old fable goes they use some kind of mobile TEMPEST setup to work out if you have a (CRT, LCD they can't pick up) TV and even what you happen to be watching (so you can't pretend it's only for video's or something). I'm not so sure on the last part, but you can detect a CRT using nothing but a reel of cable as an aerial, a PC soundcard and a couple of 100MHz of CPU. Plug it all in and look for the 15kHz scan in some waterfall spectrum analysis software. I highly doubt they actually do this, as it probably not be very reliable and as mentioned it doesn't pick up LCD TV's. In my experience they generally just go round to houses without a TV license and knock on the door.