“The announcement from Macworld about the effective relaunch of the AppleTV… is encouraging,” Ashley Highfield, The BBC’s Director of Future Media and Technology writes on the BBC Internet Blog.
Highfield writes, “This, coupled with Apple’s (long anticipated) move to a rental model, means that we can look to getting BBC iPlayer onto this platform too, as we should be able to use the rental functionality to allow our programmes to be downloaded, free, but retained for a time window, and then erased, as our rightsholders currently insist.”
Full article here.
[Attribution. Electronista. Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Stoo” for the heads up.]
Thats cool if you could start getting more things like this ill get one
So, surely all they have to do is supply iTunes with suitable mp4 versions of the programmes?
I’m trying really hard to care. I am.
Bunch of bandwagon idiots. How long did it take them to get iplayer on the Mac?
WHAT? The BBC, actually doing something that makes sense?
BWAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Yeh right, and look over there – it’s a pig doing triple somersaults in the sky!!
Oh wait, is that actually Steve Ballmer?
The day the BBC actually do something innovative is the day I will eat my own hat. And it’s a big cowboy hat as well.
LOOK! UP IN THE SKY!!
It’s a bird, no! It’s a plane! NO!!
IT’s STEVE BALLMER IN DRAG!!!
*millions of people scream*
Steve Ballmer: “I want my AppleTV!!”
*people rejoice*
This would be fantastic, I really hope they do it.
When the BBC says it can look to doing something like that, what it actually means is that it can say nice things and do nothing for a year or two in the hope that their favoured solution with Microsoft can get some traction while there is no competition.
Of course there is much to be said in favour of the BBC working with Apple to make Apple TV a stand-alone player for it’s iPlayer service, but there’s also much to be said for having iPlayer for OS X too. The BBC have repeatedly stalled that development and have now even distanced themselves from their previous two year commitment to bring it to OS X.
Recently they have allowed UK Mac users to access the streaming video service. They are trying to make people think that it’s the iPlayer, but streaming feeds can’t be viewed later, the iPlayer service allows programmes to be stored for later viewing.
We keep getting fine words from the BBC, it would be nice to get some action. The bizarre thing is that Apple TV would probably be a much better solution for the BBC than what it’s currently proposing, but they’re too locked in to getting Microsoft to provide a solution and users often complain about how that solution doesn’t work reliably.
@drhufufur
Yeah, technically … but they’ll also need a management system around delivery; as well as all the legal mumbo-jumbo in place.
If this goes ahead I’ll be buying AppleTV for all sorts of people, older family members mostly who wouldn’t otherwise consider an IPTV solution. BBC iPlayer could actually be very good (apart from being Windows locked for downloads) and even the streaming isn’t too bad (for OS X, Linux, and Windows).
For those who know about this, would this content be free or do you have to pay for it?
@intheshelter
At this point, it’s all speculation. There is no one who knows about this, because there is nothing yet to know.
It’s a difficult question though, as iPlayer downloads are free … but use a P2P mechanism to reduce the download bandwidth cost to the BBC.
They might have to introduce similar P2P tech to the AppleTV, or introduce a small fee. Although I don’t see the fee working as BBC has to be free to UK citizens.
How to pay for, or provide, download bandwidth is one of the problems that will need solving to make this happen.
The Beebs are boobs. full stop – period.
Perhaps the BBC will put up current shows such as Dr. Who on iTunes. That will sell.
Doe’s anyone think it’s useful to have HULU on ATV. I think that could be interesting..I really think streaming tv could disrupt the cable co. monopoly. Lot of shows on myspace and aol.
Come on F Troop on ATV…..Agarn!
I have found BBC, Guardian and quite a few other media from across the pond to be often aggressively biased against many things apple. It appears to me, they often do their ‘research’ by following up the bloggers many of whom generate clicks to their web sites by making up negative Apple news. Generation ‘Y’ grew up with easy access to Internet/P2P and somehow are more demanding and yet not willing to pay. Instead of being wow’d they actively seek out the negatives of most products. However, over the years, BBC’s constant bias against apple can hardly be justifiable, and in turn has caused me to regard their news site to be quite irrelevant. More and more, I’m consciously being judicious of my clicking habits to these sites and I have a feeling I’m not alone (hear that zdnet?)
I would care…. if the iPlayer could work in the United States…
f*ck the bbc. theyre an old, useless, anti-mac group with their tongue so far up microsofts arse i would be surprised to even see this ever happening.
Yeah, because Apple is a benevolent society, funded by Steve Jobs’ personal wealth, and they really want to offer FREE hosting to the BBC.
What cr*p
krquet:
Whilst I mostly agree with you – I personally get a lot of news from Alternet these days – I can’t wholeheartedly agree with your comment regarding The Guardian. In European terms it a left-of-centre broadsheet, with a well-founded reputation for truth-telling, regardless of who’s in power, left or right. That has to be supported, with so much vacuous and frankly low-quality journalism around.
When I used to live in the UK, I read The Guardian and found its Apple coverage to be – on the whole – even-handed. It has its moments, but then compared to the limp and fact-checking challenged New York Times [my local read], it stands head and shoulders above [the NYT] for quality and veracity of its stories.
The BBC on the other hand is one f*cked up organisation that, whilst an important source of Euro news, is a mere shadow of its former self. And that’s a problem of personnel.
The BBC must have an OSX and Linux alternative because it is free to all TV license holders (you’ve got to have a license to watch TV in the UK, and the BBC gets the cash.)
If a license holder has a Mac or a Linux box and cant get the programs to d/l, then the BBC is breaking its contract or whatever it is.
Although they are a bunch of wankers, living off taxing the peoples access to TV, they wont be able to sleaze their way out of this one.
Of course, they will take 3 f***ing years to deliver, no doubt they will blame ‘security issues’ for the delay.
(Brits are very fearful people, shit scared, not allowed to have guns, cant carry a pocket knife, etc.etc.)
Dont forget the UK has lots of TV – something like 4 million cctv cameras spy on brits every minute of their lives.
You would think they would spend that cash on fixing their rotten teeth….
“You would think they would spend that cash on fixing their rotten teeth”
Oh, please, perhaps you want to include some more dumb and inaccurate cliches, like “Women are no good at driving”, or “the French don’t wash”.
Dick
funny thing is – the yanks have crap health care compared to us brits AND they have to pay for it
@harry wolf
My teeth are fine thank you. I just had them checked by my dentist and paid £27.50 on the NHS.
Dick.
Hey MDN,
Get rid of the pop-up “Top TV Bytes” window! You’re resorting to pop-up window ads?? Anyone know why it still pops up in Safari even tho’ I have Block Pop-UPs checked in Safari 3?