Restrictions threaten to cripple BBC iPlayer

By Adam Turner
Thursday, 01 February 2007 07:27

Entertainment

The BBC's overseeing body has recommended nobbling several key features of the British broadcaster's proposed video on demand service.

The BBC Trust has given the BBC's internet-based iPlayer service the provisional go-ahead but recommended a list of restrictions based on feedback from Ofcom, the independent regulator and competition authority for the UK communications industries.While the iPlayer service proposes offering UK viewers a free seven-day "catch up" service, allowing them to download programs they missed, the BBC Trust wants to ban users from scheduling "catch up" downloads in advance. It also wants downloads to be automatically deleted after 30 days, rather than the 13 weeks proposed by the BBC.

The Trust also wants to restrict the "series stacking" feature which lets viewers store downloads of an entire series. According to The Guardian, the Trust wants to limit this feature to shows "with a distinct run, with a beginning and end, and a narrative arc or those which are landmark series with exceptionally high impact". EastEnders, Horizon, Top Gear and Blue Peter would be excluded from series stacking under the Trust's iPlayer proposals, while series such as Bleak House, Planet Earth and Doctor Who would be included.

In a blow to Microsoft, the Trust also insists the service be platform agnostic. As proposed by the BBC, the service would have relied on Microsoft's digital rights management framework. The Trust requires the BBC to adopt a platform-agnostic approach within "a reasonable timeframe" to enable users of other platforms such Apple and Linux to access the on-demand services.

The proposals are now open to public consultation, with the BBC Trust expected to reach its final decision by May. The BBC Trust replaced the Board of Governors on 1 January, 2007, as the independent body responsible for governing the BBC.