In a recent re-think of BBC on-demand policy, the BBC Trust has made the list of on-demand programming that can be shown on its iPlayer service much longer.
This means that some or all of the back catalogue of iPlayer shows could be making their way to Sky and Sky Go, the digital service’s on-demand player. The service had previously been unavaliable to Sky users as the company refused to entirely replicate the service on Sky Go.
Additional services to benefit from newly freed BBC shows could also include other online streaming media services such as Netflix and LoveFilm.
Virgin media’s Tivo box has long offered the complete iPlayer package, but Sky’s beefr is with the fact that iPlayer shows must be shown in the BBC-designed iPlayer setting, rather than allowing users to pick from a Sky-designed list.
The descisions by the BBC Trust came as a result of ongoing talks between the broadcasting company and Sky.
The revised policy says, “The trust considers that there is generally public value in syndication and that it is in the interests of licence fee payers that they can access BBC on-demand content from as many platforms and devices as possible.”
The policy also adds that iPlayer programmes should “usually” be clearly defined as BBC content within another digital distributor’s platform, although “Circumstances may occasionally arise, however, that justify special arrangements that depart from this model.”
Sky customers may benefit quite soon from this new change in policy, however changes may not be swift as talks between the company and the BBC are still ongoing. More information will probably be avaliable as soon as it arrives.
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