Petition battle over BBC iPlayer

 

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By Stuart Turton

Posted on 21 Aug 2007 at 14:50

An online petition to stop the BBC releasing its iPlayer on Windows XP before other operating systems has been met with a counter petition demanding exactly the opposite.

The first petition, posted on the 10 Downing Street website, demanded that the BBC hold off releasing its much discussed iPlayer until the on-demand TV service was ready to run on all operating systems, as opposed to just XP.

The petition has garnered 16,058 votes, about the same number as want Jeremy Clarkson to be Prime Minister, and well over the 200 required to force the government into a response.

The second petition, currently ticking along with 39 votes, retorted that, "Although the BBC iPlayer will initially only be available to Windows users, it is ridiculous that the BBC should have to delay releasing it on one operating system just because of others who will have to wait a short time."

The BBC has already issued a statement confirming its intention to develop the iPlayer for Apple Macs and Vista, calling it "absolutely on our critical path."

A beta version of the player was released a month ago causing a stir among ISPs who demanded the BBC contribute towards the costs of the extra bandwith the service would require.

Read our analysis of the iPlayer software here