4 ms·

To be fair, BBC.com isn't paid for with the license fee. But I agree, it's pretty miserly of Auntie.

mike-cardwell 13y ago
My understanding is that they're not allowed to serve that website in the UK because it contains advertising and they're not allowed to advertise in the UK. I'm not sure where I heard/read that though.
- corin_ 13y ago
  That's not the case, because the main BBC websites (e.g. bbc.co.uk) serve the same content to UK and non-UK visitors, with adverts showing to the latter, so they could easily do that on this site too.
- jonrimmer 13y ago
  What's idiotic is that nowhere do they actually explain that's the reason they block access, instead they just give a meaningless non-answer about it being a commercial venture, ignoring the fact that plenty of other BBC Worldwide run commercial things, such as http://www.bbcshop.com/ http://www.bbcshop.com/, are available in the UK. All it would take is a slightly more apologetic page that spells out the actual legal reasons they can't make the content available, and people would probably get a lot less annoyed. Instead, every time a link is posted to BBC Future, people have the same reaction and ask the same questions. And if you search, you'll find plenty of blog posts and articles with people complaining and trying to figure out why the content is blocked in the UK, with absolutely no effort on the part of BBC Worldwide to clear things up. It really seems to be a case of total incompetence on behalf of BBC Worldwide. The licence fee is already controversial, and stuff like this only serves to toxify their brand and give ammunition to their enemies. It's baffling.
  - disputin 13y ago
    http://www.bbc.co.uk/complaints/ http://www.bbc.co.uk/complaints/
    - jonrimmer 13y ago
      People have complained in the past[1] and only received the same vague BS that the blocking notice gives. The Daily Mail ran an attack piece when BBC Future launched[2], but it didn't prompt them to change anything. Whether due to incompetence or apathy, BBC Worldwide seem incapable or unwilling to improve their communications. [1] http://halfblog.net/2013/01/16/why-is-this-bbc-website-not-available-in-the-uk/ http://halfblog.net/2013/01/16/why-is-this-bbc-website-not-a... [2] http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2208251/Global-BBC-website-boasting-depth-analysis-cutting-edge-research-available--EXCEPT-British-licence-fee-payers.html http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2208251/Global-BBC-w...

My understanding is that they're not allowed to serve that website in the UK because it contains advertising and they're not allowed to advertise in the UK. I'm not sure where I heard/read that though.

corin_ 13y ago
That's not the case, because the main BBC websites (e.g. bbc.co.uk) serve the same content to UK and non-UK visitors, with adverts showing to the latter, so they could easily do that on this site too.
jonrimmer 13y ago
What's idiotic is that nowhere do they actually explain that's the reason they block access, instead they just give a meaningless non-answer about it being a commercial venture, ignoring the fact that plenty of other BBC Worldwide run commercial things, such as http://www.bbcshop.com/ http://www.bbcshop.com/, are available in the UK. All it would take is a slightly more apologetic page that spells out the actual legal reasons they can't make the content available, and people would probably get a lot less annoyed. Instead, every time a link is posted to BBC Future, people have the same reaction and ask the same questions. And if you search, you'll find plenty of blog posts and articles with people complaining and trying to figure out why the content is blocked in the UK, with absolutely no effort on the part of BBC Worldwide to clear things up. It really seems to be a case of total incompetence on behalf of BBC Worldwide. The licence fee is already controversial, and stuff like this only serves to toxify their brand and give ammunition to their enemies. It's baffling.
- disputin 13y ago
  http://www.bbc.co.uk/complaints/ http://www.bbc.co.uk/complaints/
  - jonrimmer 13y ago
    People have complained in the past[1] and only received the same vague BS that the blocking notice gives. The Daily Mail ran an attack piece when BBC Future launched[2], but it didn't prompt them to change anything. Whether due to incompetence or apathy, BBC Worldwide seem incapable or unwilling to improve their communications. [1] http://halfblog.net/2013/01/16/why-is-this-bbc-website-not-available-in-the-uk/ http://halfblog.net/2013/01/16/why-is-this-bbc-website-not-a... [2] http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2208251/Global-BBC-website-boasting-depth-analysis-cutting-edge-research-available--EXCEPT-British-licence-fee-payers.html http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2208251/Global-BBC-w...