MSE News: Watching BBC iPlayer on catch-up to require a TV licence 'soon'

MSE_Luke · 2 March 2016 at 3:52PM

The Government has announced it is to act "as soon as practicable" to close a loophole that currently allows viewers to watch BBC TV legally without paying the licence...

Read the full story:
'Watching BBC iPlayer on catch-up to require a TV licence 'soon''

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pappa_golf · 2 March 2016 at 4:00PM

In a keynote speech at the Oxford Media Convention,

some guy gobs off with his own Ideas and MSE think its breaking news

Paul_Herring · 2 March 2016 at 4:09PM

Said Whittingdale:

"The BBC works on the basis that all who watch it pay for it..."

Really? He's deluded then. The BBC is funded on the basis that all who watch ANY live TV, even if none of it is the BBC, pays for the BBC.

I take it none of the wording of the secondary legislation will newly exclude those who don't watch any BBC channels at all from the need to pay a fee, whether they're watching other live to air channels or other channel's catchup offerings.

scotsbob · 2 March 2016 at 4:25PM

I have a better plan.

All those actors, pop singers, entertainers, authors who appear on the One Show/Graham Norton Show etc etc to plug their plays/records/books/products should pay the going rate per minute that ITV would charge for a commercial.

Put that plan into operation and there would be no need for a licence fee to watch what is effectively the state broadcaster.

Paul_Herring · 2 March 2016 at 4:40PM

scotsbob wrote: »

All those actors, pop singers, entertainers, authors who appear on the One Show/Graham Norton Show etc etc to plug their plays/records/books/products should pay the going rate per minute that ITV would charge for a commercial.

Needs to go further.

What about the BBC advertising itself?

"Hello, this is the news at 1. Later today, after news that frobnicating widgets can cause wobbles, we have a 1/2 hour programme on BBC 1 at 9pm on how severe the wobbles can get when your widgets are frobnicated, and what you should do about it. Here's Jinny Philspace interviewing the producer to tell you more about it. Jinny?...."

Or any other superficial news item that has a corresponding sorta-relevant programme somewhere on the network.

Or the interstitials that appear between programmes advising you that yes, even though you're watching BBC2, Eastenders is still on 20 times a week elsewhere, and tonight it'll be on at 7.30pm, with the omnibus for the the week so far on BBC9 at 8pm.

I keep meaning to trak an hour's output from either BBC 1 or Radio 4 and actually time how much of that hour is the BBC plugging itself in one form or another. But I can never seem to find the will to do it...

brewerdave · 2 March 2016 at 4:40PM

Unenforceable claptrap - without a big investment by the BBC to put their programmes behind a paywall it can't happen

callum9999 · 2 March 2016 at 4:43PM

brewerdave wrote: »

Unenforceable claptrap - without a big investment by the BBC to put their programmes behind a paywall it can't happen

It strikes me as being a relatively simple procedure to require you to create an account to watch iPlayer, linking said account to a license number.

Of course it couldn't possibly be 100% enforceable, but what law is?

callum9999 · 2 March 2016 at 6:00PM

Paul_Herring wrote: »

Needs to go further.

What about the BBC advertising itself?

"Hello, this is the news at 1. Later today, after news that frobnicating widgets can cause wobbles, we have a 1/2 hour programme on BBC 1 at 9pm on how severe the wobbles can get when your widgets are frobnicated, and what you should do about it. Here's Jinny Philspace interviewing the producer to tell you more about it. Jinny?...."

Or any other superficial news item that has a corresponding sorta-relevant programme somewhere on the network.

Or the interstitials that appear between programmes advising you that yes, even though you're watching BBC2, Eastenders is still on 20 times a week elsewhere, and tonight it'll be on at 7.30pm, with the omnibus for the the week so far on BBC9 at 8pm.

I keep meaning to trak an hour's output from either BBC 1 or Radio 4 and actually time how much of that hour is the BBC plugging itself in one form or another. But I can never seem to find the will to do it...

What about it? The BBC is allowed to advertise itself. I'm not aware of a single TV channel on the entire planet that doesn't do so - are you?

Depends which hour you choose. I've never calculated it but given the fact that BBC programmes tend to be 28-30 or 58-60 minutes long, I'd guess it's normally somewhere in the region of 1-4 minutes per hour. Why that matters I don't know?

Paul_Herring · 2 March 2016 at 6:54PM

callum9999 wrote: »

What about it? The BBC is allowed to advertise itself. I'm not aware of a single TV channel on the entire planet that doesn't do so - are you?

Not to the extent the BBC does, no.

Depends which hour you choose. I've never calculated it but given the fact that BBC programmes tend to be 28-30 or 58-60 minutes long,

Selection of podcasts I've got on my phone for Radio 4 (note that these timings include pre and post inserts, that weren't actually broadcast and added post-preduction, that last up to a minute and a half total. Guess what some of them are doing? Advertising other stuff.):

Law in action: 27:57
Friday Night comedy: 27:54
Comedy of the week: 28:24
Wake up to money: 41:59 (45 minute programme.)
Money Box (Sat): 24:12
Money Box (Wed): 28:08.

I'd guess it's normally somewhere in the region of 1-4 minutes per hour. Why that matters I don't know?

Because it's not 1-4 minutes per hour including the content of those programmes and is a massive underestimate based on my experience. 11-14 would probably be closer to the mark going by what I hear on Radio 4 on my way to work on a morning with the Today program for example.

Or the news on BBC 1 where they appear to find the slightest excuse to mention another programme somewhere else on the network.

The fact that you, personally, don't appear to recognise when this happens with your gut-feeling of 1-4 minutes goes to show how insidious it actually is.

And the stuff between programmes outside of the above generally advertise at least two other programmes.

Tigsteroonie · 2 March 2016 at 7:01PM

Paul_Herring wrote: »

"Hello, this is the news at 1. Later today, after news that frobnicating widgets can cause wobbles, we have a 1/2 hour programme on BBC 1 at 9pm on how severe the wobbles can get when your widgets are frobnicated, and what you should do about it. Here's Jinny Philspace interviewing the producer to tell you more about it. Jinny?...."

I do hope they are already charging other channels - there was a 5 minute feature on Breakfast yesterday about a programme on Channel 4 later that evening.

Torry_Quine · 2 March 2016 at 7:04PM

It had to happen sometime.

MSE News: Watching BBC iPlayer on catch-up to require a TV licence 'soon'

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