BBC to commence trials of TV and Radio download service

By Steve Malone

Posted on 29 Sep 2005 at 10:24

A new BBC service which allows online views in Britain to catch up with the Corporation's TV and Radio output up to seven days after the original broadcast is about to go on trial with a test sample of 5000 viewers and listeners.

The BBC will be road testing its iMP (interactive Media Player) service for broadband enabled viewers that will allow them to download and watch programmes from BBC TV and Radio.

The broadcaster says it has received a 'phenomenal response' following its call for volunteers to road test its iMP (integrated Media Player) trial. The Corporation expects to be contacting the volunteers prior to the testing that it expects to take place over the next few weeks

According to the BBC, around 30,000 people registered to take part in the trials. Of these, some 5,000 have been chosen based on a representative cross section of the country. The lucky volunteers will be contacted by email over the next few weeks with the full trials beginning in October.

The planned system will have its own interactive programme guide to allow viewers to find what they want. Users can also use the software like a video recorder and set iMP to download programmes that are coming up over the next seven days that they might otherwise miss. The downloaded TV programmes will also be available with subtitles for the hard of hearing.

iMP is similar to the BBC online RadioPlayer that allows you to listen to any BBC radio programme from the last seven days although the iMP is broader by encompassing TV as well.

The BBC says that the purpose of the trial will be to gauge the public interest in an iMP service. The Corporation will also assess the value of such a service and any potential market impact. This presumably means whether bootleg copies of popular programmes, such as The Office, will end up being distributed around the Internet, which would affect the lucrative DVD sales the BBC currently enjoys.

Once the trial is completed, the BBC says, the information gathered will help the BBC Board of Governors make a final decision on whether to give the green light iMP for a full roll out sometime next year.