I suspect the big problem is the way rights are sold internationally hampered the range that was available through this service - limiting it to BBC shows that found few buyers globally. The BBC isn't going to be able to provide Doctor Who or Top Gear to every country in the world through a service like this because there are local partners everywhere, and *they* want to include the OTT rights within their licencing agreements.
It's interesting that as Netflix has expanded globally, it has found the same problem - they didn't own the rights to House of Cards in France for example. I think they'd like to own all the rights themselves in future, but where would that leave agreements with ABC/Marvel for example? I have no insider knowledge on this, but I think the BBC is probably going to do more deals with the likes of Netflix, Amazon and similar. Like it or not, TV still works on a territory by territory basis, and different territories have different licencing arrangements. There is due to be the launch of a BBC Store at some point this year - http://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/broadcasters/bbc-worldwide-ready-to-open-store/5079527.article. I guess an iTunes model allows them a bit more flexibility in what they can offer in various territories. How those shows get played back, and the DRM that will undoubtedly be employed, is another question altogether. Adam On Tue, May 12, 2015 at 5:01 PM, John Edwards <[email protected]> wrote: > The BBC sent out an email this morning saying that they are shutting down > the global iPlayer by the end of June. They had earlier decided against > expanding it, citing competition from Netflix, etc. Confirmation is here: > http://iplayer.bbcworldwide.com/ > > I subscribed to it for a while in 2012 and 13, when I briefly tried > cutting the cord, but found the content fairly dated (although I did > appreciate being able to watch The Rise and Fall of Reginald Perrin) and > not updated as often as I would have liked. > > They talk about other plans to deliver content across multiple devices, > which I assume means they'll eventually end up hooking up with another > streaming provider, at least outside the UK. > > John > > -- > John Edwards > "You can insure against the weather, but you can't insure against > incompetence, can you?" - Phil Tufnell > > -- > -- > TV or Not TV .... The Smartest (TV) People! > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google > Groups "TV or Not TV" group. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected] > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected] > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "TVorNotTV" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > -- -- TV or Not TV .... The Smartest (TV) People! You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TV or Not TV" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TVorNotTV" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
