I don't get it either. But I guess they are are concerned about Mr. Disgusted, Cheltenham complaining: "I don't see why I have to pay my license fee AND suffer

I don't get it either. But I guess they are are concerned about Mr. Disgusted, Cheltenham complaining: "I don't see why I have to pay my license fee AND suffer these interminable commercials". Come to think of it, it may be in the BBC's Charter that their content be free from commercials (to license payers). If so, they are contractually bound to hide the commercials or, keeping it simple, just not provide content with commercials to license-payers. Of course, most of the BBC's internet accessible content has always been geo-restricted in the opposite direction. So they have form there.