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Calls for fees to use BBC iPlayer

23 September 2009 18:40 by James "Dela" Delahunty | 8 comments

There have been some calls lately for fees to be introduced for viewing TV shows episodes and other content on the BBC's popular iPlayer. Lorraine Heggessey, chief executive of TV production company Talkback Thames, said that users of the site should be charged "micro payments" to use the online catch up service.

Tony Cohen, chief executive of Talkback's parent company Fremantle Media, is also conducting a feasibility study of the concept. The increasing support in the industry to introduce fees for the service come as advertising revenue in the commercial TV sector falls.

However, while research conducted by Fremantle allegedly suggests that consumers would be willing to pay up to �2 for some shows, the BBC says that it has no plans to introduce fees to use the service, on the grounds that viewers already pay for it. "The cost of the BBC iPlayer is covered by the licence fee, so UK users have already paid for this service," said a spokesperson.

The service was launched on Christmas day in 2007 after �6 million was spent developing it. Now, during peak hours, it pumps out approximately 12GB of data per second to UK viewers. Media industry expert Steve Hewlett says that the idea of paying to watch TV programmes online makes sense, in theory.

"The BBC never thought it was appropriate to give away DVDs, so why should catch-up be free?" he said. "Traditionally, licence fee payers have paid for access on a TV set - and only for the first transmission." He believes that a payment model similar to what is being offered by Amazon or iTunes might be an appropriate solution.

Permalink to this article | Topic: Online video

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Discuss this article!
Ryoohki (Newbie) 23 September 2009 18:45
I tell you, the bloodsuckers never stop. I hope the BBC stands their ground and doesn't start double dipping people. [ + quote]
pphoenix (Inactive) 23 September 2009 19:33
*Originally posted by Ryoohki:* I tell you, the bloodsuckers never stop. I hope the BBC stands their ground and doesn't start double dipping people. the bbc would love to do this by they (the bbc) by law are not allowed to because as the article already states we have already paid for the content, the bbc has to abide by strict rules unless they will one day be commercially funded & if this nightmare happens the large corporations will try to bleed us all dry [ + quote]
jos22 (Newbie) 23 September 2009 20:47
going by their 2 pound to watch some shows if that per eps for a show like heroes. that will cost you over 40 pounds to watch a season. which is more than you pay to buy dvd/blurays from on-line retailers. [ + quote]
pphoenix (Inactive) 23 September 2009 21:25
*Originally posted by jos22:* going by their 2 pound to watch some shows if that per eps for a show like heroes. that will cost you over 40 pounds to watch a season. which is more than you pay to buy dvd/blurays from on-line retailers. unless the law is changed the BBC are not allowed to do this. The powers that be in the media industry are moving to rid the world of physical media, over the next decade i can foresee the MPAA led by sony, only allowing digital copies to be sold that will only play once on 1 device that needs to sync to an on-line server for authorisation, then you get the pleasure to purchase it all over again. MPAA, MPA, FACT, AFACT, Ect: # Sony Pictures # Warner Bros. (Time Warner) # Universal Studios (NBC Universal) # The Walt Disney Company # 20th Century Fox (News Corporation) # Paramount Pictures Viacom�(DreamWorks owners since February 2006) [ + quote]
plazma247 (Junior Member) 24 September 2009 2:27
I was going to submit this article but didnt bother, i guess someone else did as i didnt think it was worth it. Basically to sum it all up the EX head of carlton (part of ITV group) said the BBC should start charging as it makes it hard for other tv stations to charge for their content online when you can get the BBC's for free. Seeing as he is the X head.. im asuming some of his views didnt go well with the board of carlton either. Anyway the BBC stuck 2 fingers back up and said its free and they have no plans to charge... all a bit of a non event. [ + quote]
creaky (Moderator) 24 September 2009 8:51
Whether it's the BBC calling for such fees, or a.n.other body or company, how about someone reminds them that we already pay the ....BBC TV licence. Main PC ~ Intel C2Q Q6600 (G0 Stepping)/Gigabyte GA-EP45-DS3/2GB Crucial Ballistix PC2-8500/Zalman CNPS9700/Antec 900/Corsair HX 620W Network ~ DD-WRT ~ 2node WDS/WPA ~ Buffalo WHR-G54S. 4node WPA2/AES ~ WRT54GS v6 (inc. WEP BSSID), WRT54G v2, WRT54G v3.1, WRT54G2 v1, WRT54G v5. * Forum Rules * [ + quote]
townliar (Newbie) 25 September 2009 8:43
Yeh yeh, pay again, no thank you ITV has the worst "iplayer" around only marginally beating 4oD's crap one, if they start to charge people more and more people will turn to P2P or maybe just buy a DVD recorder, sky +, etc. Wake up and smell the coffee, this is a no brainer! [ + quote]
pphoenix (Inactive) 25 September 2009 12:56
As a question did Silvio Berlusconi purchase part or all of ITV, as i know he had plans to do this. This factor would be about right as Silvio Berlusconi's conservative buddy Rupert Murdoch, has recently announced to charge for whatever he can for services that are currently free. [ + quote]