UK regulator Ofcom is getting pretty upset about a government controlled broadcaster, the BBC, moving out of pure broadcasting into P2P content delivery and is urging the government to block the move or at least to change its terms slightly.
The BBC has been developing its Kontiki based iPlayer for over 2 years now, mostly right in the public gaze, so it’s a little late for Ofcom to behave as if it has only just come across the plan. The idea is that the BBC will give away content that has played during the past week on the BBC, using a P2P client for download. It has also suggested that it might charge people outside the UK for the same rights, because they won’t have paid for a TV license unlike people in the UK.
The decision on whether to allows the BBC will be taken by a special trust that sits above the BBC, deciding where it can or cannot operate. This will look to assess the public value of new services and its effect on rivals. After all about $5 billion a year of new content will suddenly be unleashed on the market. It will stimulate the online video market, but it may also prevent rivals from developing.
Ofcom has carried out a study to see what the effect on rivals the iPlayer would have and has concluded that some hurdles should be placed ahead of the BBC to stop it damaging the development of new markets.
It especially doesn’t like the very loose definition of something that the BBC calls ‘Series Stacking,’ which would mean that a TV series could be downloaded in its entirety once it has finished being broadcast. It’s fine for this to be offered in programming where the plot line lasts for months and months like ’24’ but not for soap operas where new plot lines develop all the time and are often unrelated to one another, says Ofcom.
Ofcom also raises concerns over DRM free music, which may form the basis of MP3 collections and inhibit the growth of paid for online music services.
It also points out that by using Windows Media DRM, the service will limit the use of other technology and wants to see a RealMedia version of the service and one that will work with Apple operating systems.
Ofcom reckons that over the next five years linear TV viewing in the UK will fall by 20% to 30%, to be replaced largely by increased use of on-demand services.