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iPlayer isn't a commercial service, it's funded by the UK tax payer though the license fee. I agree that this is something the BBC should look at making availa

iPlayer isn't a commercial service, it's funded by the UK tax payer though the license fee. I agree that this is something the BBC should look at making available more widely as a revenue generator to fund it's operations but it's not a priority for them.

danohuiginn 15y ago
less 'not a priority', more 'politically impossible'. They're constantly under pressure from the Murdoch empire, and other commercial TV, trying to prevent the BBC doing anything popular/profitable. International iplayer would send the lobbyists into an epic tantrum.
AlexC04 15y ago
What's the TV license at now? 180 pounds or ~275 US? If it came with access to iPlayer, 4oD & iTVoD I'd probably be willing to pay for a UK TV license. (I'm in Canada)
- archivator 15y ago
  That's an interesting model - pay the full price for a TV license and only use the web services. There would be technical difficulties, of course (guaranteeing a decent connection to the BBC servers, possibly adding international data centres) but it certainly provokes thought. On the other hand, how exactly will the government justify collecting tax from non-citizens (even worse, non-residents!)?
  - Tyrannosaurs 15y ago
    > On the other hand, how exactly will the government justify > collecting tax from non-citizens (even worse, non- > residents!)? How do the US justify taxes when I (in the UK) buy something from Threadless which is based in the US? Or my subscription to Backblaze? Or the sales tax when I visit the US (where I'm neither a citizen nor resident)? It's pretty much a non-issue. Technically though it probably wouldn't be a tax. A tax is collected by the state and this would almost certainly go through a limited company which while ultimately owned by the state is legally different.
- chadgeidel 15y ago
  Heck - I'd pay that for BBC Formula 1 coverage alone!

danohuiginn 15y ago

less 'not a priority', more 'politically impossible'. They're constantly under pressure from the Murdoch empire, and other commercial TV, trying to prevent the BBC doing anything popular/profitable. International iplayer would send the lobbyists into an epic tantrum.

AlexC04 15y ago

What's the TV license at now? 180 pounds or ~275 US? If it came with access to iPlayer, 4oD & iTVoD I'd probably be willing to pay for a UK TV license. (I'm in Canada)

archivator 15y ago
That's an interesting model - pay the full price for a TV license and only use the web services. There would be technical difficulties, of course (guaranteeing a decent connection to the BBC servers, possibly adding international data centres) but it certainly provokes thought. On the other hand, how exactly will the government justify collecting tax from non-citizens (even worse, non-residents!)?
- Tyrannosaurs 15y ago
  > On the other hand, how exactly will the government justify > collecting tax from non-citizens (even worse, non- > residents!)? How do the US justify taxes when I (in the UK) buy something from Threadless which is based in the US? Or my subscription to Backblaze? Or the sales tax when I visit the US (where I'm neither a citizen nor resident)? It's pretty much a non-issue. Technically though it probably wouldn't be a tax. A tax is collected by the state and this would almost certainly go through a limited company which while ultimately owned by the state is legally different.
chadgeidel 15y ago
Heck - I'd pay that for BBC Formula 1 coverage alone!