Scotland

I love the BBC.  When I was in England and Scotland a few years ago, I actually spent time sitting in front of our flat’s TV flipping channels and checking out the programming.  It didn’t hurt that this was during the world cup and I’m a “football” fan, but I got into more than just the sports.  At home in California, I watch a lot of BBC America–not only the news and Dr. Who but a whole host of programs (like that Gordon Ramsey show, Top Gear, Cash in the Attic, Coupling, Graham Norton and on on on).  Trouble is, BBC America only spoon feeds us shows they think Americans might like.  There are tons of things that I’d love to see over here–like all those great David Attenborough documentaries (all their documentaries, for that matter).  They didn’t even want to show Dr. Who at first–they gave it to SciFi.  It wasn’t until the show became a hit that they realized they should be showing it, too, so they are now showing the series a season behind the times.

So BBC America is okay but it could be better.  And the way it can be better?  Online streaming.  Yes, BBC offers free online streaming of their programming to people living in the UK.  However, it’s not available to the rest of the world.  Now, the “free” part makes perfect sense–they pay a TV license in the UK, so they should get the programming free online.  Of course, they don’t really need that programming as much online because they have it on TV, but whatever–making it available is great.  But why not expand to the world?  Charge whatever you want–I’ll pay and I’m sure I’m not alone.

But it doesn’t work like that right now.  There are, I’m guessing, licensing issues and international broadcasting laws and other crap that probably gets in the way of all this stuff.  And that stuff is so 20th century, so TV-centric and regional.  And that’s a product of where we are in the digital world.  We’re just not quite there yet.  The walls that separate entertainment from the barriers erected for TV and radio monopolies are still in place despite the fact that the web (the REAL web) went well beyond those barriers years ago.

It’s not just BBC.  ABC and the other American networks don’t make their materials available to people in the UK for the same reasons.  It’s silly and it won’t–can’t–last, but it’s frustrating while it does last.

Why can’t BBC just sell their content to everyone in the world willing to pay for it?  Why can’t ABC do the same?  What’s really stopping them?  How can this be a bad thing in any way?  Hell, CNN did it.  RTE in Ireland has done it.  Comedy Central and Adult Swim do it (hell, you can see Adult Swim things online before they’re on TV).  Plenty of broadcasting companies around the world have followed suit.  Why not the good stuff, too?

BBC does say they are working on an international version of their player, but it’s not here yet and I’m not holding my breath.  By the time it arrives, I’m guessing there will be such a glut of streaming, live channels to pick from that it probably won’t matter.  Because that’s where we’re heading–to an Internet-based TV medium, one where the broadcast powerhouses will have to compete with all the startups an YouTubes of the world  If BBC and ABC and all the others were smart, they’d jump on the international bandwagon now, pave the way for the rest.  But they’re not smart, are they?  That’s why they work in TV.

Originally published 6/6/08