The BBC has made an announcement that may change the way we watch TV. They broadcasting company is making their television programs available for download over the Internet.
The BBC is allowing the downloading of television shows as a 3-month trial to begin in September. The company will use its new Interactive Media Player (iMP) to allow programs to be downloaded and viewed.
The trial will allow consumers to download selected TV shows for a period of 7 days after they first aired. In addition to TV, the BBC is streaming radio broadcasts and additonial channels not yet available with the iMP.
The new system will require users to download the new iMP program. The files that are downloaded will include Digital Rights Management (DRM) to delete the programs after a period of 7 days. The included DRM will also prevent sharing the files on unauthorized p2p networks or burning them to discs.
Although the programs can’t be shared on popular p2p networks like BitTorrent, the new BBC trial will utilize p2p technology to distribute the media.
BBC director of New Media and Technology Ashley Highfield likened the new service to another popular online success, “iMP could just be the iTunes for the broadcast industry, enabling our audience to access our TV and radio programmes on their terms – anytime, any place, any how – Martini Media.”
‘We’ll see what programmes appeal in this new world and how people search, sort, snack and savour our content in the broadband world,’ he said.
It should be interesting to see how the service works out for the BBC. The American MPAA is currently filing legal challenges against TV show swappers.
The new BBC remake of the “Dr. Who” series’ pilot leaked onto the p2p networks before it aired. The buzz created by the pre-release bootleg brought a lot of word-of-mouth advertising to the show. Battlestar Gallactica’s success is also partially attributed to the early leaks on the Internet.
