ITV will make available most of its programmes from the previous month for free, supported by advertising, when it launches its broadband offering in April, but will charge for "premium content" such as sports events. The trust yesterday predicted that by 2011 almost a third of viewing would be "on demand".Ĭhannel 4 launched 4OD last November, offering the majority of its shows for between 99p and £1.99. The iPlayer project, which will cost £131.2m over five years, is seen as a key plank of the "Martini media" strategy of the director general, Mark Thompson, aimed at BBC programmes available "anytime, anyplace, anywhere" via a variety of devices. It also plans a "syndication policy" covering the BBC making programmes available via other distribution networks such as Google Video. It also demanded that the BBC made a version available for Apple Mac computers and other operating systems, to complement the Microsoft-based PC system. It was concerned that a limitless library of programmes could damage the BBC's own commercial prospects and those of its rivals. The trust also agreed that a tighter definition was required over the ability to save entire runs of popular programmes to viewers' hard drives. Audio downloads of classical music performances and audiobooks will be banned after the trust agreed they could seriously harm commercial rivals. Viewers will be able to download shows from the previous seven days but the material will be automatically deleted after 30 days, rather than the 13 weeks proposed by BBC executives. The BBC Trust, which replaced the governors, has taken an even firmer line than the regulator on some of the issues. More than two million viewers are already familiar with "time shifting" their viewing, using personal hard disk recorders such as Sky Plus.īroadband-based services are seen as the next step but the iPlayer service will also be available via cable TV. The download service, essentially a TV version of the BBC's "listen again" radio service, which allows licence fee payers to tune in to live radio or any show from the previous seven days over the web, will transfer selected shows to computers to be viewed at will.
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