The British are coming – and they want your free time and eyeballs. The BBC is planning to launch iPlayer – the corporation’s online video-on-demand player – globally, making hundreds of hours of British television and radio programming available internationally for the first time legally.
First introduced in 2007, the BBC iPlayer allows British users to stream content through web browsers, gaming consoles and mobile devices for free. The international version may lack the last part of that sentence; unlike the British version, the international version will be a commercial enterprise, and the BBC is said to currently be choosing between interrupting programming with commercials or charging viewers for content (One report suggests that a price of “up to $10” per show is being considered, which seems like a quick way to fail). Another difference between the UK and international versions of iPlayer is that, like BBC Worldwide, the international iPlayer will offer content from non-BBC-related British producers, although none have been named as yet.
Specifics on the plan are still being decided upon, but a roll-out is expected next year in multiple countries. As long as this means we can see Doctor Who earlier, I’m all for it.
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