NEWS
The BBC's on-demand TV service, iPlayer, has been launched to further boost the Beeb's efforts to embrace the internet and meet the growing clamour for television on demand.
A beta version of the service will be available to the public from 27 July, just two months after the service received the green light from the BBC Trust.
The UK-only service will initially be a peer-to-peer on-demand download service but users will be able to stream content when the service receives its marketing launch in the autumn.
Cheat Sheets
♦ Web 2.0
♦ Mash-ups
iPlayer will allow users to download programmes up to seven days after transmission and those shows can then be viewed for up to 30 days before being deleted. The service will include 400 hours of BBC programming per month.
Speaking at the launch in London BBC Director General Mark Thompson compared the potential impact of the iPlayer to the launch of colour television in 1967.
Ashley Highfield, director of future media and technology at the BBC said the iPlayer underpins the corporation's Creative Future strategy "to maintain the BBC's relevance among all audiences in the digital age".
The BBC's aim is to increase the number of iPlayer users in a controlled manner before staging a full marketing launch in the autumn.
iPlayer will also offer series stacking on selected programmes, which allows viewers to download all episodes of a series within seven days of the transmission of the final episode.
The service will be accessible from bbc.co.uk and through partnerships with online giants including Facebook, MSN and YouTube.
The service is also being developed for television and the BBC is currently working with Virgin Media to launch on the cable service later this year.
Highfield said: "We are committed to getting the BBC iPlayer onto the television screen."
Responding to recent claims the BBC has neglected non-Windows users by initially launching iPlayer for PCs only, Highfield said: "I'm fundamentally committed to universality. We're not favouring one platform over another."
He said developing the service for Macs and Microsoft Vista is "absolutely on our critical path".
He said: "Our general rule of thumb is to reach the biggest audiences first."
He added the iPlayer couldn't have been launched without a digital rights management (DRM) system as independent producers - whose livelihoods depend on their programmes - would not have agreed to the permanent distribution of their work otherwise.
Regarding rumours of the development of a separate media player in partnership with ITV and Channel 4, Mark Thompson said: "We're talking to lots of players. Nothing's been decided or agreed with anyone yet."
But Highfield said: "I think there is a market for both types of service."
Comments
There are 3 comments. Join the discussion
1. anonymous
I hope the BBC is not going to ignore Linux platforms and the Open source community. Since OS X is based on BSD this shouldnt be too hard. The BBC should reflect on the success of Thunderbird and Firefox in providing cross platform software.
2. Karen Challinor
thats a shame, just as the industry is moving away from DRM someone comes along with a product they've been developing thinking it was set in stone
personally I refuse to purchase anything with DRM in it, install anything with DRM on my PC or purchase/install anything which uses the term "downgrade" such as the technology associated with HD systems
now if someone thinks I'm a thief then the burden of proof is on them to prove it, not just assume it's true and treat me as such
DRM assumes you are a thief so do HD technologies, they assume you will immediately attempt to mass produce and sell someone elses product
they are inneffectual technologies, it is always possible to bypass the security if you have the equipment and expertise and these are only in short supply at the consumer end of the chain, the pirates have easy access to experts and technology so the consumer is the only person who really suffers from these measures, the pirates will have had their money and moved on by then
once the consumer suffers enough they will stop purchasing the product altogether, did the manufacturers ever think about that
3. anonymous
As a current Beta tester, I do not believe it is in any way ready for the general public.
I have failed to ever download a single program, and just get a message stating that they are 'having technical difficulties'.
Currently, I can't even log in...