Doctor Who on the Net?Bookmark and Share

Sunday, 28 August 2005 - Reported by Shaun Lyon

According to a BBC News story, BBC Director General Mark Thompson has confirmed that the BBC's TV channels will eventually be made available on the internet. Thompson announced plans for the MyBBCPlayer - which will allow viewers to legally download seven days of programmes - at the Edinburgh Television Festival, and said he hoped the service would launch next year. "We won't deserve or get licence-fee funding beyond 2016... that is very definitely not our plan," said Thompson. Says the report, a simulcast of BBC One or BBC Two, letting UK viewers see programmes on the web at the same time as they go out on TV, is also planned as part of MyBBCPlayer. Said Thompson, "We believe that on-demand changes the terms of the debate, indeed that it will change what we mean by the word 'broadcasting'. Every creative leader in the BBC is wrestling with the question of what the new technologies and audience behaviours mean for them and their service." Audio and video archive material will be made available, as will other items such as BBC material for sale. The story metnions the leak of the first episode of the new Doctor Who series in March, and also notes that "a BBC spokesman said the corporation was aiming to simulcast a channel permanently but would restrict it to UK viewers only. These plans are subject to the approval of the board of governors and the resolution of rights clearance issues on content like music and imported shows." Also reported at Yahoo News. (Thanks to Thomas Jennings, Paul Engelberg)




FILTER: - Broadcasting