4 ms·

Wow, I can't believe this website is actually blocked to residents in the UK. "BBC Worldwide (International Site) We're sorry but this site is not accessible f

Wow, I can't believe this website is actually blocked to residents in the UK. "BBC Worldwide (International Site) We're sorry but this site is not accessible from the UK as it is part of our international service and is not funded by the licence fee. It is run commercially by BBC Worldwide, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the BBC, the profits made from it go back to BBC programme-makers to help fund great new BBC programmes. You can find out more about BBC Worldwide and its digital activities at www.bbcworldwide.com."

probably_wrong 10y ago
Web Archive mirror: http://archive.is/O38gv http://archive.is/O38gv
pricechild 10y ago
Do people in other countries have to pay to visit the page?
- mikeash 10y ago
  I didn't have to pay, but it does show me ads.
- brianzelip 10y ago
  Not in the US, I just read it.
- mrcarrot 10y ago
  No, but it includes advertising.
  - jimboj 10y ago
    Which is why it is blocked to people in the UK as they already pay the licence fee and therefore aren't allowed to be shown ads by the BBC. It's a bit of a weird situation.
    - revelation 10y ago
      So they instead.. block the page? Couldn't they just hide the ads?
      - shawabawa3 10y ago
        I think that because the content on the page is produced as commercial content (with the aim to make money on advertising) they can't show the content at all in the UK. (yes it's weird and it's stupid/outdated)
      - soneil 10y ago
        They already selectively show/hide ads - for example, I'm in the Republic of Ireland, and see ads on the BBC News site. It's a bit more complicated than that. BBC in the UK aren't allowed to operate outside their charter - they're severely restricted in how much they can compete with private commerce. BBC Worldwide is the beeb's commercial arm, who do exactly this - outside the UK, where they're competing fairly as any other commercial venture. So Worldwide aren't allowed to operate within the UK precisely because of the licence fee - it'd be unfair competition. It's not just because they're shown ads - it's simply because the content is produced by their commercial arm, so finds itself on the wrong side of the home/worldwide silo.
    - to3m 10y ago
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_BBC_television_channels https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_BBC_television_c... - presumably its web site counts as "on air".
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
- rocky1138 10y ago
  Works in Ontario, Canada.
fn 10y ago
Here: http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:tDlbieCZ72UJ:www.bbc.com/travel/story/20161027-how-pure-is-the-beer-in-germany+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=ca http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:tDlbieC...
growt 10y ago
Wow, kafka would be proud!
- rublev 10y ago
  Why?
  - growt 10y ago
    Because the situation is absurd or kafkaesque. British citizens who pay for BBC are not allowed to view BBC Worldwide, which is owned by BBC.
    - kwhitefoot 10y ago
      But they are not paying for BBC Worldwide, if anything BBC Worldwide is subsidizing the UK part of the BBC.
      - growt 10y ago
        Nobody is paying for BBC Worldwide (at least to view this article, apart from advertisement). So why not show it to UK citizens? It wouldn't take anything away from BBC or BBC Worldwide. Maybe some more clicks on advertisements from people in the UK, so more revenue. Also if BBC Worldwide is showing content to everybody but UK citizens to subsidize BBC to produce other content for UK citizens, why not show the BBC Worldwide content in the first place (if the goal is to have more content in the UK)?

probably_wrong 10y ago

Web Archive mirror: http://archive.is/O38gv http://archive.is/O38gv

pricechild 10y ago

Do people in other countries have to pay to visit the page?

mikeash 10y ago
I didn't have to pay, but it does show me ads.
brianzelip 10y ago
Not in the US, I just read it.
mrcarrot 10y ago
No, but it includes advertising.
- jimboj 10y ago
  Which is why it is blocked to people in the UK as they already pay the licence fee and therefore aren't allowed to be shown ads by the BBC. It's a bit of a weird situation.
  - revelation 10y ago
    So they instead.. block the page? Couldn't they just hide the ads?
    - shawabawa3 10y ago
      I think that because the content on the page is produced as commercial content (with the aim to make money on advertising) they can't show the content at all in the UK. (yes it's weird and it's stupid/outdated)
    - soneil 10y ago
      They already selectively show/hide ads - for example, I'm in the Republic of Ireland, and see ads on the BBC News site. It's a bit more complicated than that. BBC in the UK aren't allowed to operate outside their charter - they're severely restricted in how much they can compete with private commerce. BBC Worldwide is the beeb's commercial arm, who do exactly this - outside the UK, where they're competing fairly as any other commercial venture. So Worldwide aren't allowed to operate within the UK precisely because of the licence fee - it'd be unfair competition. It's not just because they're shown ads - it's simply because the content is produced by their commercial arm, so finds itself on the wrong side of the home/worldwide silo.
  - to3m 10y ago
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_BBC_television_channels https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_BBC_television_c... - presumably its web site counts as "on air".
deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
rocky1138 10y ago
Works in Ontario, Canada.

fn 10y ago

Here: http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:tDlbieCZ72UJ:www.bbc.com/travel/story/20161027-how-pure-is-the-beer-in-germany+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=ca http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:tDlbieC...

growt 10y ago

Wow, kafka would be proud!

rublev 10y ago
Why?
- growt 10y ago
  Because the situation is absurd or kafkaesque. British citizens who pay for BBC are not allowed to view BBC Worldwide, which is owned by BBC.
  - kwhitefoot 10y ago
    But they are not paying for BBC Worldwide, if anything BBC Worldwide is subsidizing the UK part of the BBC.
    - growt 10y ago
      Nobody is paying for BBC Worldwide (at least to view this article, apart from advertisement). So why not show it to UK citizens? It wouldn't take anything away from BBC or BBC Worldwide. Maybe some more clicks on advertisements from people in the UK, so more revenue. Also if BBC Worldwide is showing content to everybody but UK citizens to subsidize BBC to produce other content for UK citizens, why not show the BBC Worldwide content in the first place (if the goal is to have more content in the UK)?