BBC Planning To Launch Global iPlayer VoD Service 179
An anonymous reader writes "The BBC is reportedly mulling over plans to come up with an international edition of its hugely popular iPlayer service, in a bid to allow global audiences to catch up with some of its top shows, according to BBC Worldwide, the corporation's profit-making arm. BBC Worldwide said that the move would help revamp its business model, and thereby help the corporation in raking in significant profits through its premium content."
$10 per episode? (Score:2, Insightful)
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As good as some of the shows are, $2/episode is too much.
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Who are is this guy kidding?!
Yeah, it shows just how out of touch they are (Score:2)
This is one of those quotes that has to be remembered. Paying 10 dollars (and most likely 10 euros) for a SINGLE tv episode...
This guy is not just out of touch with reality, he might actually be classified as insane. Imagine having to pay that for something like well, Torchwood. It has 3 seasons, each 13 eps long, so lets make it an even 30x 10 is 300 dollars for this show alone.
Season 1 on DVD costs 47 dollars (on amazon) and 2 costs 57. Lets assume season 3 costs 60 and you have to pay on the iPlayer D
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Their DVDs are priced at similarly silly levels. I own quite a few Blake's 7 VHS tapes, and I was considering picking up the complete series on DVD until I saw the price. I'd just bought the whole of Babylon 5, so that was my price comparison. Each season of Babylon 5 costs £13 and contains 22 episodes (around 50p/episode). Each season of Blake's 7 costs £25 and contains 13 episodes (around £2/episode). Given that Blake's 7 was made much earlier (1978 vs 1994 for the first season of e
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No, the licence fee only applies if you use equipment to receive broadcasts - *owning* the equipment doesn't need a licence. So transferring from VHS to DVD via a TV card would be perfectly acceptable.
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That explains the pricing structure on BBC DVDs at the local DVD store. :(
I keep wanting to buy Torchwood and Dr Who, but it costs 4 times the price I pay for the average HBO series.
Lets not even start on the price of old series like Blakes 7, which have not dropped in the several years they have been out.
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The problem is that most US shows get shit, samey or self-parodying after a couple of seasons. Short runtimes lead to this not happening. What happens instead is teams generally stay together and make something new.
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>>>They make the episodes for next to nothing then boast that people will pay $10 each.
So the BBC is your typical government program (or monopoly). Produces cheap results at exorbitantly high cost. I am not shocked.
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So the BBC is your typical government program (or monopoly). Produces cheap results at exorbitantly high cost. I am not shocked.
By what definition of some other word you are mistaking for monopoly, is the BBC a monopoly?
And as is repeated again and again, the BBC is not a government run broadcaster, it's a publicly funded broadcaster that the government has no direct control over.
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What will it take for the US public to get their head around big budget != high quality. Red Dwarf had a tiny budget compared to most US sci-fi series. Was dozens of times better than most of them too. The Children of Earth five part series had a special effects department that consisted primarily of some rubber puppets, a few CGI flame effects and a person with a copy of Audacity to do the alien voices (probably). Result = Very Creepy Miniseries.
QI Please (Score:3, Interesting)
I hope they include QI in their international lineup. I've been waiting for that show to become available here since I first saw it on YouTube, but no US station has agreed to carry it. These days such videos are taken down pretty quickly, so a legitimate feed of BBC programs would be very welcome indeed.
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If you have a multiregion DVD player, you can always buy the DVDs [amazon.co.uk], or the books if you don't.
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The article is unclear... (Score:2)
The international edition of the iPlayer would include host of popular shows from the BBC's array, such as Torchwood, Doctor Who, and Top Gear, along with historical stuffs from the BBC archives
However it goes on to say
However, the international iteration of the iPlayer wouldn't show domestic content
One big difference between BBC and BBC America right now is commercials and their impact on what we see in America. If the international iPlayer still gives Americans the sliced-up 40-minute shows (as opposed to the 1-hour versions seen in the UK), then they aren't offering anything that isn't already offered in the US on cable (this could be considered "domestic").
Furthermore, those of us who are fans of Top Gear also know that we have missed a lot o
Where do I sign? (Score:2)
Good quality? No ads? Reasonable price? Uncut? Where do I sign?
I just can't see the Beeb redistributing imports like the excellent Spiral [bbc.co.uk], the English title for Engrenages [canalplus.fr]. Most of this stuff ends up on DVD (I bought Spiral on DVD from Australia, complete with SBS's [sbs.com.au] Aussie subtitles), but not always.
...laura
Give me this: (Score:5, Insightful)
- Doctor Who and Top Gear :)
- PayPal micro-payment as an alternative to watching ads, or where you can't get any ads for.
- A price that is somewhere in the range of what you'd get from advertisers.
Why that price? Because I know what you get for ads on the web. And those prices are so low per individual viewer, that BBC would still make a better profit, by asking 5 cent per show, or something like that. A price that nobody can ever think of as too expensive.
I would be happy to pay for something that deserves that money.
Comedy Central should do the same with The Daily Show. Come on. Those prices are like nothing! And you still make a hell of a better profit, as when advertising! And people still can choose to watch the ads, if it's not worth money for them.
It's a no-brainer! A win-win!
You could also let us buy a whole season at once. 65 cent for 13 episodes.
Oh, and of course I expect to be able to save it right from the player. Because I can save it anyway (After all, it already had to be transferred to my computer, to be watchable!), and using my Firefox add-on is not even any hassle. But the gesture of letting me save it right in your player, will show a friendliness that crates important sympathies.
P.S.: I'm a bit ill today, and not that fit. so sorry if my sentences look a bit weird to read. ^^ I hope it all makes sense anyway.
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Personally, I would pay the normal license fee for access to all of BBC's content. Unfortunately, I don't think that will ever happen. For some things they simply don't have the rights for redistribution outside of the UK. A good example is football. On the odd occasion that they broadcast a football match, there's just no way they will be able to negotiate rights outside of the UK.
Still, if I could find a legal way to watch Dr. Who that would be a tremendous step forward for me. Living in the country
Forgot the most important part (Score:2)
Those of us who have BBC America are getting, generally, 2/3rds of the programming per show that our British counterparts get. This can be especially egregious in some Top Gear episodes where 20 minutes is removed to make room for commercials. And then to make matters worse they sell those same butchered episodes to us in American stores as well.
I would happily pay to see the full Top Gear episodes that I am missing, especially from the seasons that have never been shown in Am
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Yes, all those ad break are incredibly annoying.
I seriously don't know how you put up with them. When I lived in the US, I bought a Replay TV, which skipped the ads very nicely...wonderful device.
Now I'm living in Finland, the US shows I watch on TV have half the number of ads, so we have the show 'going to ads' and then coming right back again....better than actually having the ads, but still very annoying.
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...oh, and I now remember *why* they're so annoying...it's because the shows have a tendency to summarise what happened before it broke for the ads, so when you don't have any actual ads, the summary is completely unnecessary...so we keep going...come on..we know all this...get on with it! Tsk.
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...oh, and I now remember *why* they're so annoying...it's because the shows have a tendency to summarise what happened before it broke for the ads, so when you don't have any actual ads, the summary is completely unnecessary...
No, the problem is worse than that. As I mentioned, the BBC shows are a full hour of content in the UK. When they come over for American broadcast, they trim out over 20 minutes of the show in order to make room for commercials. Sure, the ads suck, but the fact that we never get the content over here sucks even more. If you go to your favorite place to buy DVDs in America and buy Top Gear on DVD, you'll get the butchered version we see on BBC America (40 minutes per episode). If someone buys the sam
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> No, the problem is worse than that
*Your* problem might be worse than that, but I'm talking about a different problem...that of watching US shows outside the US.
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Probably because BBC America isn't the BBC, its a commercial entity set up to screw you out of as much $$ as they can get away with (the American dream, right?). The BBC itself is not allowed to fund any programmes not available to UK viewers, so these corporates have to be legally and organisationally separate, and entirely self-funded.
So the BBC will be selling the full hour episodes to BBC America, which then 'reformats' it for domestic viewing based on the current environment - ie adding loads of ads.
I
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The Mythbusters style drives me up the wall. Instead of having the myths presented in sequence, you have 2 minutes of one, switch to the next, two minutes of that, switch..... what the hell is all that for? Do they think viewers would get bored if they had to spend more than a couple of minutes on one subject? It made it extremely difficult to follow exactly what was going on.
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Please, not paypal...that's too restrictive to non-US countries. I wouldn't mind paying micropayments on my phone bill, and that's probably where I would watch them anyway.
About time (Score:2)
I emailed them years ago asking how to pay for their service. They responded that they have no way to let me pay for the service, or more importantly had no way of providing my content. So I had to go another route. I pay for a UK proxy; specifically the VPN service:
http://www.ukproxyserver.co.uk/
IF the BBC has VOD, that still won't help with ITV, SKY, and Channel 4 etc.
In fact I'm watching to Russell Howard's Good News Episode 1. Review: it's OK, but he's not nearly as funny solo as he is on Mock The
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They often have free trial weekends. Head to the website and check from time to time.
VOD - profit vs. use (Score:2)
I don't mind VOD / pay for new movies. I can see people paying for latest-run TV shows, I guess.
And there's a lot of BBC stuff I'd like to be able to stream, legally - with some sort of reasonable model.
I'd like to see Doctor Who and whatever that series was that had the British flying around trying to sell franchises, as well as many others - any of the early BlackAdders come to mind as well.
But these are OLD tv shows. You can make a few bucks selling ads and selling ads for DVD / Blu-ray discs. Consider
And subscription is compulsory in the UK because.. (Score:2)
Its excellent value, its a national treasure, everyone loves it.
So why exactly does it have to be legally compulsory to subscribe to it if you want to watch any TV? Why is this the only subscription TV that you are obliged to subscribe to? Why, if we really want to make it compulsory to subscribe to some TV, do we not allow you to pick the provider of your choice? Why is it, that if you want to watch the English cricket team go down in flames yet again, you are obliged to subscribe to two TV broadcast se
Re:And subscription is compulsory in the UK becaus (Score:2)
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This is not entirely correct. You don't need a license to view catch-up programmes but you do need one for live simulcast programming.
Do I need a TV licence to watch programmes on BBC iPlayer? [bbc.co.uk]
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iPlayer does offer live streams of every BBC channel, which requires a license, apparently. Live or near-live requires a license.
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Name one.
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Too bad The IT Crowd is Channel 4's. It's the only UK series I've followed (apart from The Office, but UK version was so short). Otherwise I haven't really found good shows from there.
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UK version was perfect length, US version should not exist, ITV reimported it and it makes me cring (and not in the good way UK version did), a few popular programs are:
QI
Dr who
Michel and Webb look (makers of peep show)
Mock the week (even without Frankie Boyle it will still be great and probably good enough to get international appeal, like the daily show)
Top gear (actually we all laugh at US cars over here so that probably wouldn't go down well)
Never mind the buzzcocks (well if they find a good presenter)
A
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Top Gear is very popular in the US; the series and the magazine are well regarded. Your over-generalizing and "fashionable" anti-Americanism is what doesn't go down well.
So, do all of you laugh at the SSC Ultimate Aero? It is currently the world's fastest production automobile. [thesupercars.org] That's nothing to laugh at.
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This [youtube.com] goes down well? how about a review of you #1 car [dhadm.com] (segment on show was actually harsher but i couldn't find a link).
TBH never heard of it, but yes because it looks ugly and has stupid doors, you would have been better talking about the Saleen because despite the same stupid doors it doesn't look like it was designed by a blind ape, but the Bugatti is by far the worlds best supercar, because its a true engineering masterpiece (not just fast). Watch TG review of any american car, with a few exceptions (su
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The F150 is the #1 "car" because of fleet buyers, and because Toyota's equivalent too the Hylax here isn't quite as good as the European version (lot of the same parts, but different chassis). Incidentally, the Chevy Silverado would be the #1 "car" if a chunk of them weren't sold as GMCs. Plus, the new F150 released since that review is quite a bit better.
Fleet buyers are the same reason why Vauxhall exists despite being total pants.
Also, most of America is not the Deep South, and doesn't even like the Deep
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Well, the transit in most incarnations has always been a German / English design, totally independent of Ford US. It's only the most recent ones that've been styled in the US, onto one of Ford's 'international' platforms (from Germany, IIRC, & used everywhere bar the US), but still built in Southampton (not sure if they're still made in Köln).
So, essentially, the UK Transit is the last of t
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I'm curious how you would know the quality of the engineering on any supercar. Do you have actual access to the products in question? Anything can be made to look good or seem pretty fancy, it's one of those things that I would think requires some quality time.
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Watch TG review of any american car, with a few exceptions (such as the ford transit van) we think they suck, and it's not just anti-Americanism we really do think you guys make crap cars.
Uh you know that JC owns a FORD GT40, right? Also, if I remember correctly, the F-150 review was of a Lightning which everyone over here thinks is ridiculous, and most of the complaints involved it's size being impractical for the UK. Duh! The road system and fuel prices are dramatically different and cars that work one place don't work in another. I mean I'd be a little bonkers to drive some of the tiny cars that are popular in Europe on an interstate just like you wouldn't try and drive a F-150 through
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I mean I'd be a little bonkers to drive some of the tiny cars that are popular in Europe on an interstate
I don't see why, most of them are faster than US cars.
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Actually if you watch the link (it's missing the attack on americans for liking such a stupid car which he adds later), he describes it as the worst car he's ever driven, the criticism that i care about are:
It's an "off-road car" without 4x4 or an on-road care that's ridiculously big.
It doesn't have any safety certification a car needs.
The controls are very loose.
The interior is shite (objectively speaking)
"The brakes are the size of milk tops"
Uh you know that JC owns a FORD GT40, right?
I should have qualified that with recent, they like many older c
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A Trek 5 paraquote ? Kudos !
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Black books
League of gentlemen (so different from the similarly named the crappy film)
Spaced
Jam
Little Britain
Off you go :)
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Black books - Channel 4
League of gentlemen - BBC
Spaced - Channel 4
Jam - Channel 4 (I think)
Little Britain - BBC. Deteriorated badly after 1st series.
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We all supposed to get strung out on 'Coronation Street' or something?
Re:Great! (Score:4, Informative)
Examples:
I regularly watch all the above, even if they are "out-of-date"...
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now has a "rotating" host since the original one had to leave after a prostitute/cocaine scandal
To clarify, he only left after the second scandal. He survived the first, more or less, but after the second it was basically impossible for him to continue because all of the contestants were mocking him, rather than the news.
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I remember that last episode and it was by far Paul Merton who really went all out sticking the knife in. He showed a genuinely vindictive side on that episode. He had a special t-shirt printed with newspaper headlines about the host which he wore. He basically didn't let the host get out a straight question for nearly the entirety of the show. The host, Angus Deayton, put up one of the most valiant efforts I've ever seen to take everyth
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If you like Frankie Boyle, you might like Argumental [uktv.co.uk] on Dave. quote:
I never thought I'd see the day where Frankie Boyle would be referred to as only the second most offensive ginger haired chap to appear on a stage and make people piss themselves laughing while at the same time leaving them feeling both disturbed and afraid for their own safety.
Buzzcocks - was brilliant in the early days, Mark Lamarr would tease bimbo contestants by telling them the answers and they *still* wouldn't get it right. Hilarious at times.
Have I got News for You - still good, but not nearly as good as the Radio4 version, the News Quiz. Its kind of a dumbed-down version for prime-time TV audiences who need pictures to go with their comedy.
People have mentioned quiz shows like QI, (even if it gets it wrong [uktv.co.uk]
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Re:hugely popular? (Score:5, Informative)
Don't say we (Score:2)
When you mean *I*
(And you do mean *I*)
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Actually, "we the public" hated the P2P idea because the BBC was using "we the public's" bandwidth to distribute its content instead of providing its own. The P2P iPlayer was only liked by people who read Slashdot.
Why do you care whether P2P is used or not? As long as your downloads complete in a timely manner, what difference does it make how it got there?
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No just people from the UK.
Nobody likes it. Nobody wants it.
Obviously not true
We the public hate its DRM
The public don't care, those that do don't hate the iPlayer because it has no DRM
and regional limits - even for shows that should be in the public domain
Bullshit, we paid for the content, we want BBC worldwide to make some money off you foreigners, so it can put on more quality programming without us paying for it.
we hate the fact that BBC dropped the P2P idea because they couldn't figure out how to get it to work
I quite like the fact they dropped the P2P idea because it was silly to expect people to install a program to get VOD. As a linux user I'm also glad they moved to air+flash instead of windows only+drm.
because they couldn't figure out how to get it to work
He couldn't be trollin
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I don't care about the DRM because, effectively, it doesn't exist. It's only on the downloadable content, not the streaming content. If you use get_iplayer, you can grab the .mov or .flv files and play them back with VLC on any platform.
You don't need to install anything to get at the streaming content; just go to the iPlayer site and click play. I don't have a TV anymore, but I have an old laptop connected to a computer, which I use to watch BBC shows.
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Nice opinion, thank you for being such a sport.
Just saying it like it is, take a look around the majority of people think we should.
5. In order to meet the BBC's obligations to rights holders, the BBC will embed downloadable BBC with digital rights management security - from here [bbc.co.uk]
meh i was wrong, but
1) The public still don't care
2) It doesn't apply to the flash version
3) I'd rather have it with DRM than not exist at all (or spend more money on content)
4) Most objection to DRM is when it restricts something you have paid to own, DRM is an acceptable evil when used properly (such as pay to rent)
It is of course reasonable to expect people to install the Adobe AIR runtime and the iPlayer AIR application.
When they launched the P2P version it was not alongside its flash based streaming. AIR is based around the f
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Be careful. They might start trying to pull money from people that have already paid the "taxes" (there is some piece of semantics that makes the tv license not quite a tax). For instance dvds of bbc shows aren't noticebly cheaper than other channels despite the bbc's funding model. It's possible that they might take this route with online content if charging becomes normal for other channels.
Also, I do object to the tv license, mostly because of their marketing department. Junkmail is never welcome but the
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Be careful. They might start trying to pull money from people that have already paid the "taxes" (there is some piece of semantics that makes the tv license not quite a tax). For instance dvds of bbc shows aren't noticebly cheaper than other channels despite the bbc's funding model. It's possible that they might take this route with online content if charging becomes normal for other channels.
Indeed. I'd actually say that DVDs of BBC shows (at least the popular ones) are more expensive than those from other channels, given the amount of content. UK series tend to be waaaay shorter than US series (and lower budget per episode, often) and yet somehow I'd be roughly looking at paying the same price for a series of Dr Who as for a US series. Dr Who is good but it's not good enough for me to pay that much, so I never buy any.
Also, I do object to the tv license, mostly because of their marketing department. Junkmail is never welcome but theirs often contains borderline threats. They also have a nasty habbit of sending salesmen to people who ask not to be spammed.
I've heard it alleged that the BBC don't have direct control over the lic
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That's basically what I've done, although in my case it's also because my current house doesn't have an aerial to receive terrestrial broadcasts and I don't want to pay for a cable subscription. But - don't get rid of your TV, plug your laptop into it so that it's just like watching TV but without the license fee :->
The current government is obsessed with control and can't resist the urge to just poke at anything they can. The TV license isn't an example of this government's craziness, it goes back waa
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If I lived in the UK I'd get rid of my TV rather than pay some stupid ~$300/year BBC fee.
£115.
I can watch my favorite shows on my laptop, and take-up reading to fill in the rest of the time.
But in the USA, you'd still be paying for public TV if you did this.
Your country is really messed up with overzealous government control.
I just heard last night that the UK is measuring trash via some fancy-new chip-embedded cans, which will gradually be distributed to the populace. Purpose? To see how much waste you throw-away and eventually start charging you per pound. It's a way to encourage recycling instead of trashing.
Are you suggesting private waste collection/disposal companies don't change by weight (or volume)?
I'll be happy to pay less for waste collection with this system (I'm certain I produce less waste than average). Similar systems are used in other countries.
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>>>But in the USA, you'd still be paying for public TV if you did this.
In the USA television is free. All you need is an aerial. Unless you were talking about PBS? That's only $3 a year - not really a big deal.
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>>>Are you suggesting private waste collection/disposal companies don't change by weight (or volume)?
Yes of course, but the idea is that trash can would have an extra tax (per pound) placed on top of it, while the recycle bins would not. (At least that's how the UK guy explained it to a CNN reporter.) It's a way to encourage people to recycle rather than trash their items.
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And based upon my previous purchases from the UK, one pound == 1/2 dollar, so 142.5 == 1/2 * $$$ ---> $285. Close to my initial $300/year estimate.
I think this part of the website is funny. Talk about Big Brother - "How do I let you know that I don't need a licence? Answer: Just click here to enter your details. When we receive your declaration, we'll send you a letter confirming the next steps. These are: * We will send a TV Licensing officer to your address to confirm the situation. ** Once
Nasty habbit (Score:2)
We wants it, we needs it. Must have the precious. They stole it from us. Sneaky little habbitses. Wicked, tricksy, false!
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>>>Sneaky little habbitses.
Nuns? Check out this hot little number (Audrey Hepburn) http://ia.media-imdb.com/images/M/MV5BMTE5MjgxMDcxMF5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTYwNDU3MzQ2._V1._SX259_SY400_.jpg [media-imdb.com]
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haha - NICE!
The world needs more classic beauties :\
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Not only that, Channel 4 make a large quantity of their content available on 4od(nasty flash site but still vaguely usable in linux) for 30 days, or indefinitely for stuff in their backcatalogue, such as the comic strip presents and every episode of peep show, whereas the BBC keeps recently aired content online for 7 whole days and expects you to buy the DVD if you would like to watch anything older... If i miss the first episode of a programme and realise this just after the second episode has aired i then
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A lot doesn't equate to nearly enough, and i don't think i've ever seen it happen for radio content. PVR mode in get_iplayer is a great idea, but it still needs me to anticipate the first episode for anything that isn't in catch-up mode. Then there's the issue of older programming, which BBC worldwide have got their grubby hands on and are holding to ransom on paid-for cable/satellite channels, can't we at least have more repeats?
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As a brit, watching that reminds me of all the is bad about US TV. It's over produced, badly edited, misconstrued action (for dramatic effect), constant 'dramatic' sound track, 'dramatic' voice over, all about the confrontational aspect....
Compare to the UK version and as you say, it's more about the business, more 'factual' there's no dramatic voice-over providing unneeded 'tension'.
It reminds me of the Simpsons episode where Homer 'grabs her can' gummi venus de
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Homer: Somebody had to take the babysitter home. Then I noticed she was
sitting on [splice] her sweet [splice] can. [splice] -- o I grab
her -- [splice] sweet can. [splice] Oh, just thinking about
[splice] her [splice] can [splice] I just wish I had he --
[splice] sweet [splice] sweet [splice] s-s-sweet [splice]
BBC is a weird beastie (Score:5, Interesting)
The BBC is a really weird organisation. It's a state-run TV channel, which usually we assume means "propaganda mouthpiece". The BBC is set up in a peculiar way whereby the state collects the money for them but the government is not allowed (in theory) control over the BBC itself. The BBC's charter has various requirements to show balance in political reporting and the government is denied direct mechanisms to interfere in editorial decisions. This generally works pretty well and the BBC is widely considered a fairly accurate, relatively unbiased news source.
This independence can fall down a bit; when the BBC aired allegations that the government had exaggerated evidence in support of the Iraq war, a whole complicated scandal resulted including the suicide of the civil servant who made the allegations (after he was basically abandoned by his department and hounded by the media). The government set up an enquiry called the Hutton Report, which viewed a lot of evidence (including a draft where a political advisor / spin doctor suggested changing "may have weapons of mass destruction" to "has weapons of mass destruction") and came to the conclusion that nobody was really at fault but the BBC should have done better. A bit mystifying to many of us. Anyhow, some say that the BBC has been a bit more cautious about government criticism since then. Nevertheless it (appears to) remain a fairly comprehensive and unbiased source, compared to many of the other major players in news.
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I believe they also forced Greg Dike (head of the BBC when it was critical over the bullshit that was the Hutton report) out. IMO they managed this despite the rules, because one of the BBC trust board members was married to a labour MP. However one thing that is interesting is that none of the commercial stations really pushed the government on this bullshit which suggest they are just as controlled by the BBC (well C4 sort of did but ITV & five just rolled over IMO)
ITV News (Score:2)
Have you seen ITV news recently? It's like a cross between the Daily Mail, Daily Express and Heat Magazine.
The BBC1 news is going the same way. The only TV news I watch now is Channel 4 News [channel4.com]. Channel 4, although partly commercial is a public service broadcaster so its news tends to be reasonably independent.
The best news is on Radio 4 twice [bbc.co.uk] a day [bbc.co.uk].
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The best news is on Radio 4 twice [bbc.co.uk] a day [bbc.co.uk].
This. Radio 4 alone is worth the licence fee, AFAIK there's not even a commercial station that tries to compete.
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I'd say the World Service [bbc.co.uk] does try, its a bit like Radio4 International Edition, so that doesn't really detract fromR4 being *the* best radio station anywhere.
And don't forget the comedy on R4, all the best stuff you see people raving about on the TV started life as radio broadcasts, and they were better on the radio.
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The BBC's charter has various requirements to show balance in political reporting and the government is denied direct mechanisms to interfere in editorial decisions. This generally works pretty well and the BBC is widely considered a fairly accurate, relatively unbiased news source.
unless you are an American Republican. I mentioned the Beeb as a fairly unbiased "outside" news source to a Republican friend of mine and the venom was immediate. Yes, I think they do a pretty good job. But it does seem that the
Re:BBC is a weird beastie (Score:5, Insightful)
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If the beeb isn't saying what these politicians want said, then it has to be doing a sterling job. You can tell just how good a job its doing by measuring the amount of vitriol said politicians and supporters spew when confronted with it :)
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Weird beastie it may be, but you make two errors. It is not state-run in any meaningful sense and the state does not collect the money. Wikipedia has a decent summary of the licensing and collection regime here [wikipedia.org].
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You call it "state run", then go on to explain how it is not state run.
The state gives it authority to collect a license fee, on condition that they abide by their charter. And there the relationship with the state ends.
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In fact a similar situation exists in many european countries: The german ARD and ZDF are are also state channels and by law all groups in society are represented and have influence. The same for dutch (although the details work differently) and swiss state TV.
For example in dutch state TV, political, religious or other groups get a # of hours depending on the number of members they have. There are strict limits regarding programming: a max. amount of advertisement and the nature thereof (not misleading, no
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The BBC is a really weird organisation. It's a state-run TV channel, which usually we assume means "propaganda mouthpiece". The BBC is set up in a peculiar way whereby the state collects the money for them but the government is not allowed (in theory) control over the BBC itself. The BBC's charter has various requirements to show balance in political reporting and the government is denied direct mechanisms to interfere in editorial decisions.
It wasn't until I read it put in these terms that I realised that this is really a model that we should be looking at for providing education and medicine in this country. It would stop political interference and ensure that decisions on curriculum etc. were made by experts in the fields rather than as the latest government knee-jerk reaction.
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I remember when the Americans made a version of Scrapheap Challenge called Junkyard Wars, and the difference in style was very noticeable and grating - much more loud and obnoxious. But most British TV isn't so good these days - the comedy has been mostly dreadful for the past decade, with Peep Show being an honourable exception.
The BBC isn't "state run" really, and it *is* a good idea, particularly for news and current affairs, as it has much stronger requirements for balance and fairness than typical Amer
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Yeah, on this side of the Atlantic we haven't been subjected to decades of right-wing brainwashing about the evils of socialism so we can actually enjoy public services.
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You could if you paid some guy to set up a proxy.
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