BT begins charging for BBC content

 

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By Matthew Sparkes

Posted on 3 Jun 2008 at 10:55

BT Vision customers are to be charged for accessing on-demand BBC content, despite it being freely available on the iPlayer.

Until now users have had free access to BBC programmes via their V-Boxes, but BT had apparently been suffering from a glitch which prevented it from charging for the service - a move it claims it had always intended.

BT sent subscribers an email warning that the service would now incur a charge, just as accessing Channel 4 content on demand already does, despite it also being freely available online.

Content from both providers is now available only as part of the TV Replay Pack, an add-on which costs from £3 per month.

"It's true that you can watch BBC shows for free on your laptop, but your internet connection isn't free," says Adam Liversage, chief press officer at BT, explaining that the advantage of the package is a 1.5Mb/sec bitrate, three times higher than the standard iPlayer's 500Kb/sec.

In November last year users noted in a forum post that the BBC appeared under the TV Replay option on the V-Box platform, although it was labelled "currently unavailable", which backs up BT's claims that it had always intended to charge for the service.

"The pack has always been there, but what has happened is that BBC programmes are now in it," explains Liversage. BT insists that the BBC does not take any of the revenue generated.

However, with both services available free of charge online as well as on services for the Nintendo Wii and Virgin Media, the company may see less take-up of the offer than it expects.

The BBC was unavailable for comment at the time of writing.