BBC Trust provisionally green-lights new on-demand services

by Mark Banham, Brand Republic 31-Jan-07, 12:05

LONDON - The BBC Trust has given the corporation a provisional green light for new on-demand services, subject to 'certain conditions and modifications' to any proposal that may be put forward for the new products.

Proposals from the BBC are for four types of service, including: a seven-day catch-up over the internet; a seven-day catch-up over cable; simulcasting television over the internet; and streaming of live television networks and non-digital rights managed audio downloads over the internet.

Three internet-based services are intended to be offered as part of the BBC iPlayer, which will incorporate all the audio and video services offered on bbc.co.uk.

The Trust said that the storage window for seven-day TV catch-up over the internet should not be wholly excluded because it creates public value according to the trust, but should be limited to 30 days. The BBC's application proposed users of its service should be allowed to store material they have downloaded for a maximum of 13 weeks.

It said the public value of allowing access to free content also needed to be balanced against the value of the BBC's secondary rights and potential for negative market impact against the commercial sector. The trust said it agreed with Ofcom that there is a need for a tighter definition of which series would be offered for stacking.

The TV catch-up service on the internet relies on Microsoft technology for the digital rights management framework. So, the trust said it would require the BBC Executive to adopt a "platform-agnostic approach within a reasonable timeframe".

This would require the BBC to develop an alternative DRM framework to enable users of other technology, for example, Apple and Linux, to access the on-demand services.

According to the trust, audio-books and classical music should be excluded from any downloads, because the public value to be created is not, the trust said, sufficient to justify the potential market impact of allowing downloads of these genres.

The trust also said that the BBC must ensure that there is significant protection for children against adult content.

It will issue a final decision before May 2 this year, after taking account of the responses it receives during the consultation period.

Diane Coyle, BBC trustee and chair of the PVT Steering Group, said: "The BBC Trust has a duty to ensure the public receives value in return for paying the licence fee. Our view is that the BBC's new on-demand services are likely to deliver significant public value, and should be allowed to proceed, but subject to certain conditions in order to reduce the potential negative market impact.

"In representing the public interest, the trust's duty includes ensuring that the BBC does not adversely affect the market by reducing choice for licence fee payers. In reaching our decision, the trust has therefore taken account of both the potential public value added and the potential negative market impact. We concluded that a number of modifications to the BBC's proposals are necessary to deliver the greatest value to the public."

The BBC Royal Charter and Agreement, which came into effect on January 1, requires the BBC Trust to subject all new BBC services to a "public value test" to assess whether they would be in the wider public interest.

In January, Ofcom concluded that the BBC's plans for on-demand services are likely to have an adverse effect on related commercial markets such as DVD rentals and audio books.

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