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It seems that the BBC's iPlayer is proving too popular.
Last year, broadband providers complained that the Beeb's video- streaming service was putting their networks under unreasonable strain. On Tuesday, it was Auntie's turn to whinge.
BBC technology chief Erik Huggers told the Broadcasting Press Guild that the BBC risks losing licence - fee revenue because an increasing number of people are ditching their TVs and watching everything online.
As the law stands, you only need a TV licence to watch programmes as they're broadcast.
But if you're catching up on any of the BBC's shows from the past week on iPlayer, you don't have to pay a penny - assuming you're in the UK (iPlayer access is blocked to the outside world).
This is clearly a loophole that needs to be closed - though that's hardly surprising, as digital technology moves much faster than legislation.
However, that doesn't justify the suggestion that TV licence-holders should have to pay an extra subscription just to use iPlayer.
In fact, the BBC should be thankful for what it has - at least it can rely on licence-fee revenue, even if the number of households paying has dropped ever so slightly in the last year (from 97.61 per cent to 97.37 per cent, according to Broadcasters' Audience Research Board figures).
The BBC's commercial rivals are finding it increasingly difficult to get any money from digital content, now that it's been freed from any physical medium like paper, vinyl or tape.
Visit the websites of ITV, C4 or Five and you'll find that the cash-strapped broadcasters are offering on-demand programming for free. But thanks to the recession, there's little in the way of advertising to support them.
Sadly for old media companies, the accepted price on the internet is "free". And try as some might, there's simply no turning back the tide - as the music industry so painfully proved.
By suing their own consumers, the record companies destroyed their own reputation among the internet generation. The Man has never been held in lower regard.
Meanwhile, Britons are spending more time online than we do in front of the TV, and increasingly we're browsing for video.
According to Hitwise, one in every 35 UK internet views in February was to a video site - up from one in 50 a year earlier. The iPlayer accounts for between five and 10 per cent of all UK internet traffic - and it's growing faster than YouTube.
This should be a cause for celebration. The iPlayer is an old-fashioned success story, a business built on the back of great, professionally produced programming and underpinned by the licence fee.
YouTube, on the other hand, is far more cutting-edge - but also far closer to the precipice. Yes, it's alive with user-generated video and supported by a vibrant and vocal community - but it's also estimated to be costing its owner, Google, more than $1million a day. Fortunately, its owner has deep pockets.
So enough whining: the BBC is in an enviable position. Everyone who owns a TV in the UK is a subscriber, like it or not.
And no doubt soon everyone who uses the web service will be a subscriber too. Add a subscription gateway for those outside the UK and maybe our licence fees could go down, rather than up.
But don't bet on it. Having made such a success of iPlayer, the BBC is now working with ITV, C4 and Five on Project Canvas, which aims to bring internet video to your TV through set-top box.
Seems like there's always something new to spend our licence fee on...
Tom Dunmore is editor-in-chief of Stuff magazine.
Reader views (2)
The BBC licence will be gone soon; they only kept this nasty monopoly tax to help with the digital switchover few people believe it is value for money and the two faced handling of Jonathon Ross showed the publics dislike towards the BBC and the BBC antipathy towards the public. The internet will be locked down over the next decade as politician's fear the freedoms it offers it will start with claims it is doing this control perverts and criminals when really they hate the power the internet offers the public. Interesting times ahead as the powers move to control our free speak
Sao Paulo is quite right about proxy servers shame the BBC do not offer more protection to material the British public have paid for, why did they not encrypt the service and link it with the TV licence, they want to be seen to be leading the way by giving away material to the world whilst charging the British public for the right to watch it.
- Gary, brentwood, 01/06/2009 08:39
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Oh come on everyone knows the BBC has been planning an Internet Licence to replace the TV one because the viewing figures are going down. Can you imagine the left loosing their precious funding though, they'd be kicking and screaming on the streets if the majority were set free.
Remember they pushed & pushed this iplayer and told everyone how great it was, that it's free but when enough people use it them claim these people are watching it for free because of a "loophole". Also you'll find a large percentage of these people watching will be foreign based but using UK proxy servers because the security is very laxed in order to obtain large viewing figures 
http://tvlicenceresistance.info
- Sao Paulo, Salford, 23/05/2009 10:59
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