BBC iPlayer

The BBC iPlayer has shone like a beacon since its full launch almost two years ago in December 2007. The catch-up TV service lead the way not only in the U.K. but around the world, with Hulu being its big-name opposite in the U.S.

Rather than rest on its laurels, the BBC carried on improving the service despite already providing millions of streams to viewers. The current iteration of the iPlayer service is more user-friendly and easy-to-use than any Web application or online video site.

RTS Judges’ Award

Last week saw the iPlayer praised to the highest degree when the BBC won the Judges’ Award at the 2009 Royal Television Society Innovation Awards. Jeff Henry, chair of the awards, said:

“There have been great British innovations – the steam engine, the gas turbine, radio waves, jet engines and arguably video games. Even the inventors of Viagra. But seriously, the role of honour of great British innovation now has a proud new addition,”

“For all the hard work, commitment and belief shown by the BBC and its staff, with particular recognition of Anthony Rose’s contribution, the RTS Innovation Awards proudly presents the Judges Award to the BBC iPlayer, proving that it is not just a gift for Christmas, but for life.”

Being placed alongside such great inventions as the steam engine and radio waves is pretty unbelievable. But the iPlayer may well prove to be as innovative and important as those inventions in years to come for what it represents – a world where online television is the norm rather than niche.

IPlayer Wii Channel

The BBC topped off an already great week by unveiling its plans to launch a dedicated channel on the Nintendo Wii games console. The service has been available on the console for a while through the Web browser, but a dedicated channel should be much more accessible and user-friendly.

All Wii owners in the U.K. with a Broadband connection will be able to use the Wii iPlayer. From Nov. 18, the BBC iPlayer can be downloaded for free from the console’s online shop.

Conclusions

The iPlayer is a fantastic service that continues to improve and be added to more devices in order to gain viewers. And the RTS award for innovation is wholly deserved.

The only thing that the BBC now needs to do is launch the iPlayer internationally. Whether that’ll ever happen, and whether if it did it would be free, are questions that I personally cannot answer. But I can hope.

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Ashley Highfield?

Who is Ashley Highfield? Only the man who as director of future media and technology at the BBC did more than anyone else to push the iPlayer through from being a mere concept to a reality.

Highfield left the BBC shortly after the iPlayer launched to become managing director of consumer and online at Microsoft U.K. While there he has helped launch the MSN Video Player, which quite frankly pails into insignificance against the iPlayer.

Highfield Talks

Highfield was speaking last week at C&binet, the government’s digital creative industry conference. According to The Guardian newspaper, he said:

“I think the iPlayer was a catalyst to get a lot more content [made available on-demand] in the UK. All boats rise on that, commercial or not. A reasonable question to ask now is about ‘windowing’. Is seven days free right or should it be shortened [and should the BBC] get rid of hold-back periods [so commercial companies can more quickly exploit online TV revenues from content]?”

A Change Of Mind

It’s clear just from this short statement that Highfield’s opinion on these matters has changed since he moved from the public broadcaster to a private company in Microsoft.

I’d suggest his comments are intended to move BBC content into the commercial sector more quickly than it is now. The MSN Video Player is full of archive material but if the iPlayer charged for content then it would instantly enter that competitive world.

Conclusions

It feels as though all the companies offering free TV services at the moment are considering charging. That’s not the case, of course. This hasn’t come directly from the BBC and I doubt it will ever actually charge for content. First and foremost it would risk a backlash from British citizens who already pay a TV license fee to access BBC shows.

Hulu, on the other hand, is likely to start charging in the next year or so. But even that is likely to only be for certain, selected content rather than a flat charge for the whole service.

Still, it’s a worrying trend for those of us who have got used to watching free TV services on the Web.

Kangaroo To Canvas

First came Project Kangaroo, a joint online video on demand venture from the BBC, ITV, and Channel 4. Things were going well until BSkyB and Virgin Media, the providers of satellite and cable television in the U.K. complained about the proposals. This lead to the Competition Commission killing the project.

So the BBC regrouped and began work on Project Canvas alongside partners ITV and Five. Canvas is an effort to develop a new open standard for online video which could be used by all who wanted to do so. New set-top boxes would be released to enable people to watch a range of television programs over the Internet.

But BSkyB, run by the irrepressible Rupert Murdoch, isn’t happy. Again.

Sky Complains Again

BSkyB has now made two formal submissions to the BBC Trust, which governs the inner workings of the BBC, requesting additional information about the Canvas plans and criticizing the way the BBC is going about things.

The broadcaster’s main objection is the fact that the BBC is publicly funded and using that money to create an IPTV platform that may not even necessarily wanted by members of the general public. According to Digital Spy, the report reads:

“In its unique, privileged position in receipt of substantial guaranteed public funding, the BBC is also required to adopt the least intrusive, proportionate means of fulfilling its core purpose, and to minimize any distortions of competition that might arise from the commercial deployment of its public funding.”

Pay TV Fears

Sky’s fears over Project Canvas may be warranted because any new project such as this is bound to impact on the pay TV network’s business. But assuming the BBC Trust rejects the complaints and gives Canvas the go ahead there seems little Sky can do about the future direction of the project.

The BBC is helped by the fact it has partnered with commercial partners, so even though public money is being used to develop Canvas, it isn’t the be all and end all.

Sky News Online

Meanwhile, Sky has done the unthinkable and made Sky News free to watch for all online. Previously, Sky subscribers would have to sign into the site to watch the 24 hour news channel, but now anyone (in the U.K.) can view it on the Web.

This is interesting because Rupert Murdoch has made clear in recent months his views on free content on the Web. Not only is he slowly putting selected content of his newspapers behind online pay walls, he’s spoken about his desire to see Hulu become a partly paid for service.

Is this a blip or is he softening in his old age?

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We Want It All

At the moment there exists a strange situation where people in the UK and beyond feel they’re missing out due to Hulu not being available to them and people in the US and beyond feel they’re missing out by the BBC iPlayer not being available to them.

The whole situation is crazy and wholly down to international rights licensing which sees television networks and content creators only catering for citizens in their home countries. It all makes the idea of a World Wide Web a rather pointless one.

But things could be about to change. Kind of.

Works Both Ways

We already know Hulu is planning to break out of the States and set up shop, first in the UK, and then beyond. The only problem it seems to be having is finding partners with any content worth watching.

And now comes news from PaidContent that BBC Worldwide, the commercial arm of the publicly-funded BBC is planning a similar move for the iPlayer. Although, it’s actually too early to tell whether the proposed service will use the iPlayer brand, and details are sketchy at best.

Global iPlayer

BBC Worldwide is planning to create an international video on demand portal. It won’t, however, carry BBC programming from the UK, instead being home to 1. BBC America content, 2. Premium programming such as Doctor Who and Top Gear, and 3. Archive programming, probably similar to what is already available on MSN Video.

Paid For But How?

The service will not be free, although how it will be paid for is as yet unclear. BBC.com Managing Director and Executive Vice President Luke Bradley-Jones said:

“It’s inevitable that we, the digital media business, need to move to a mix of paid services. There just aren’t enough ad dollars to support traditional media models. Consumers will pay for services they truly value… we can exploit many more monetizable opportunities, including in the paid space.”

Which is starting to sound like something Rupert Murdoch would say. He who is keen on making Hulu a paid-for service. But if anything, Bradley-Jones goes further than Murdoch when he states, “Millions of people love Torchwood and would probably pay 10 bucks an episode rather than two bucks.”

Ten dollars for one episode? That might be pushing it a little, especially when the shows are available already via other means for two dollars, as Bradley-Jones alluded to. If the shows were to be removed from iTunes and the like and pushed onto this global iPlayer then I foresee most people turning instead to torrent sites. And the BBC will lose all its revenue for being greedy.

Conclusions

It’s good to see these country-specific operations looking overseas and realizing there’s a whole world out there which wants to watching their programming. But if they’re going to exploit the rest of the world they may as well not bother.

A global iPlayer would be brilliant, as would Hulu complete with American shows be, but this sounds more like a method for printing money.

The BBC iPlayer

The iPlayer has become synonymous with online video, at least online video done well. In the same way YouTube has become the destination for short-form content, British viewers know they can rely on the BBC iPlayer to deliver long-form content in catch-up form.

The usability, range of operating systems and devices it works on, and the high quality of video content have all combined to imbue the iPlayer with a glowing reputation. And viewer numbers are still increasing, especially thanks to the new Playstation 3 integration.

Other Broadcasters

The BBC was part of Project Kangaroo, alongside ITV and Channel 4, working to create a one-stop shop for mainstream catch-up television content. Unfortunately, after complaints from BSkyB and Virgin Media, the Competition Commission stepped in and killed the venture at birth.

These broadcasters are still working together on Project Canvas, and all have their own portals as well. But it would make sense to combine forces and integrate content from other broadcasters into the BBC iPlayer.

Opening Up The iPlayer

Which is exactly what the BBC is talking about doing. According to New Media Age, BBC director of future media & technology Eric Huggers recently spoke about the possibility at IBC 2009 in Amsterdam. He said:

“We’ve had a lot of requests from domestic and international broadcasters to open out iPlayer technology and we’re responding to that. We have a lot of people searching for Coronation Street on our sites and if ITV were to come on board we could redirect them.”

“The concept of opening up our investment and technology infrastructure, user experience and design is central for us in helping other broadcasters achieve their goals of continuing to have a direct relationship with users rather than being disintermediated by third-party aggregators.”

This talk of an Open iPlayer is what the BBC is internally calling Project Marquee. And it would suggest the corporation is keen to embrace rival broadcasters who want to take advantage of the popularity and infrastructure of the iPlayer as it stands.

International Viewers

Talk of opening up the iPlayer not just to domestic broadcasters but international ones makes me wonder if Marquee could also see the territorial licensing issues be solved to enable people outside the U.K. to use the iPlayer.

There has been the suggestion of this as a possibility in the past and a truly Open iPlayer would surely need to be available to more than just British television viewers.

And now that the two have been seamlessly combined, both are reaping the benefits as a result – with increased sales and increased viewing numbers respectively.

Online Video On Consoles

I’ve long argued that games consoles are an important point of contact for the IPTV industry. Here are Internet-enabled set-top boxes hooked up to HDTVs and used by generally technically-minded younger people. What more could you ask for?

And now comes proof that games consoles have the capacity to increase the volume of viewers and scope of options available to purveyors of online video. And it comes courtesy of how the BBC iPlayer is being consumed by PS3 owners in the U.K.

PS3 iPlayer

The PS3 has recently had a redesign, with a new, slimmer, lighter version being released. This coincided with a price cut and a new firmware update, v3.0. This update made a few changes, but one of the biggest for U.K. residents is the integration of BBC iPlayer into the XMB (XrossMediaBar).

While the BBC iPlayer has been available to watch for over a year now, thanks to the BBC releasing a version viewable via the console’s built-in Web browser, this update sees the iPlayer actually show up as part of the system. One click and you find yourself on the site and ready to watch programming.

New Improved PS3 iPlayer

I’ve actually been using my PS3 to watch BBC programming on the iPlayer for months now, so this update hasn’t made a great deal of difference to me. But for those who weren’t sure how to get to the iPlayer through the browser, it has now become an easy option for online television viewing.

Watching the BBC iPlayer on the PS3 is as simple as it is on a computer. The obvious advantage being that it’s delivered in high quality and looks great on a large television. The interface is simpler and navigation is optimized for use with a controller, and these changes make for a pleasurable viewing experience. In the same way that YouTube XL does.

Increased Viewing Figures

The BBC is already seeing results of iPlayer integration from firmware v3.0, claiming that the PS3 now accounts for a massive 10 percent of all iPlayer viewing. Which makes it the second most popular platform for the service after the PC, with it leapfrogging the Mac (8.5 percent) in the last 10 days.

Now all that needs to happen is for the BBC to open up the iPlayer to those outside the U.K. and it’ll see an even bigger increase in viewing figures. We’ll take Hulu as a straight swap.

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Terrestrial Online Offerings

Here at Web TV Wire, we’ve recently been looking at how the online video sector in the U.K. has started to heat up. The BBC iPlayer is already here and doing very well, with ITV Player and 4oD backing it up to give British viewers a VOD catch-up TV service for the major terrestrial channels.

Just Like Buses…

Then there is the MSN Video Player, which although only older archived shows is another option for British viewers of Web TV. I reviewed Microsoft’s offering a few days ago, deciding that while the content was excellent, the video quality let it down. My view on that hasn’t changed since.

These offerings will soon be joined by Arqiva, which recently bought the infrastructure of Project Kangaroo and immediately promised to use it to launch a video-on-demand service in the next few months. And Hulu, which is planning to start its journey east from the United States by launching a service in the U.K.

A Changing Role

What these increasing options are doing is prompting more and more people to watch television via the Web. And for that you really need a Broadband Internet connection with speed and stability. Which is exactly what more and more people in the U.K. are choosing.

Ofcom published its annual Communications Market Report for 2009 last week. It shows how the role of the television is changing in our lives, and a big part of that change is down to the Internet and the way we access entertainment.

BBC iPlayer On The Up

For starters, 15 percent of people who have a reliable broadband connection now watch programs via the BBC iPlayer. Which equates to around 5.2 million people regularly accessing the catch-up service for shows such as Top Gear, Mock The Week, and Live At The Apollo.

That 5 million is almost double the amount of people who were using the service this time last year. A number of factors could be at play here. Online video is more mainstream and so more people will have given it a try and been blown away by the experience. The iPlayer redesign will also have helped, with streaming and download options both being improved upon.

Driving Broadband Take Up

On a bigger level, online video is also driving the take up of Broadband Internet services in the U.K. 68 percent of the nation has now moved on from the modem and narrow band and is surfing at high speed. That’s a 17 percent increase in the space of a year.

That isn’t a coincidence. More people are realizing that to truly get the best of the Internet, including having access to VOD TV catch-up services such as the iPlayer, something a little faster than a 52k connection speed is required.

[Via Broadband Finder]

Kangaroo was a joint project between the BBC, ITV, and Channel 4 which was intended to bring together content from the three main British broadcasters, as well as others, and deliver it online and on-demand to viewers.

Killed At Birth

Project Kangaroo was shaping up to be the U.K.’s answer to Hulu, a one-stop online video shop where a multitude of different broadcasters and content creators could offer their wares for free to the viewing public.

But, as is usually the case with something good, Kangaroo was crushed before it could be born, as the Competition Commission decided it was anti-competitive.

Project Kangaroo

It was first announced in late 2007 when, fueled by the early success of the BBC iPlayer, the three companies decided teaming up would be a good solution to the problem of developing and maintaining an video-on-demand service for all.

By the middle of 2008, after complaints from rival broadcasters BSkyB and Virgin Media, Kangaroo was facing a grilling at the hands of the Competition Commission. A grilling which unfortunately never looked like going Kangaroo’s way.

Ultimately, after a series of judgments and negotiations, Project Kangaroo was killed off due to the CC’s argument that it was “too much of a threat to competition in this developing market and has to be stopped.”

Arqiva Tastes Blood

Arqiva has now bought the Kangaroo infrastructure, issuing a press release announcing as much earlier this week. Arqiva isn’t a very well-known company but it owns and operates the network for terrestrial TV and radio, as well as licenses for two of the six digital TV multiplexes. Meaning it’s already a big player.

The company has now bought Kangaroo lock, stock, and barrel, which means the hardware, software, and intellectual property rights will all go to arqiva on completion of the deal. Arqiva plans to use this infrastructure to make a foray into Web TV market, both with free content and pay-to-view content.

Arqiva Talks

The company said:

“Arqiva plans to use the Project Kangaroo platform assets to launch a new video-on-demand service to UK consumers in the coming months,”

“The platform will aim to host top-end quality content from leading broadcasters and independent content providers to provide a broad range of user experiences to its audiences.”

Conclusions

I’m glad the time, effort, and money the BBC, ITV, and Channel 4 expended on Project Kangaroo isn’t going to be completely wasted. Aquiva didn’t mention what it had paid for the technology but I suspect it was a fraction of the total costs, estimated to be around £12 million ($18 million).

If Aquiva does launch a video-on-demand service using the technology, which seems highly likely, then it will need content, and will probably get that content from some of the same companies effectively banned from forging ahead with Kangaroo in the first place.

What’s more, it’ll likely have to compete with Hulu itself, which is planning to expand its operations into Europe, starting in the U.K. later this year. So I suppose the Competition Commission at least did its job in allowing competition to rage in the online video arena.

Illegal File-Sharing

The music, television, movie, gaming, and software industries pretty much see illegal file-sharing and peer-to-peer networks as the devil’s own work. Those who download these media files are the devil’s spawn, while those who make the files available to others are akin to Beelzebub himself. Which is understandable seeing as these activities do undermine each of the industries mentioned.

However, what those same industries and the content owners who operate in them need to realize is that most people only partake in illegal file-sharing due to a lack of other options. Give consumers what they want, which is affordable access to the content they desire, and the problem of illegal file-sharing goes away.

Free Music Streaming

A recent survey of 1,000 teenagers by MusicAlly revealed that the number of youngsters illegally downloading music over the Internet has dropped substantially over the last two years. It’s not the teenagers are listening to less music, it’s just that instead of turning to file-sharing networks first they are now streaming tracks and albums from services such as Spotify, Last.fm, and We7.

These services mainly operate with a free, ad-supported business model, sometimes with a premium paid option also present which gives those willing to subscribe additional benefits. Consumers are happy because they have immediate access to the music they like, the record labels and artists are happy because they are getting paid, and the middle men are happy because they have a legal business out of the deal.

Free TV Streaming

Obviously, the television industry is slowly starting to embrace services which work in a similar way. In the U.K., the BBC has the iPlayer, Channel 4 has recently opened up its archives with 4oD, and there’s the ITV Player. While in the States, Hulu continues to build an audience by offering premium shows streaming online for free. Even Hollywood is getting involved with Epix and the like.

However, in the same way that the music streaming service are being controlled by overzealous content owners, so are Hulu and the like, with restrictions being placed on content at every turn. Then there is the obvious problem of territorial rights licensing which means people in the UK can’t watch Hulu and people in America can’t watch the iPlayer.

A Business Model That Works!

Now just imagine a Spotify/Last.fm inspired TV streaming service! Consumers would eat it up and it would be a far more powerful weapon against piracy than futile DRM. To top it off the service could also embrace user-targeted advertising and less intrusive (but engaging & effective) internet ads as a highly effective monetization model.

A service like Last.fm doesn’t give an on-demand service but allows users to skip and ban tracks, and generally presents them with music they will like – put simply it’s personalized radio. A TV service working in the same way would give users the TV they wanted and introduce them to new TV shows they’ll probably like while not giving away a whole series. This would encourage DVD sales, rentals etc. and introduce audiences to new shows.

Ultimately this is a business model that could work.

Conclusions

The television and movie industries could severely cut the use of file-sharing networks for illegal downloads by embracing streaming services in a big way. If the correct strategy was put in place then content could be made available without harming the content owners bottom line. In fact, the right free TV streaming strategy could help promote shows and increase viewer numbers and DVD sales.

Net Neutrality Vs. Costs

Net Neutrality is the idea that all Internet traffic should be treated the same, no matter where it’s coming from, or what it’s being used for. It’s an important tenet for the future of online video because here is a medium that, by its very nature, requires more bandwidth than any other.

Cisco recently estimated that, by 2013, 90 percent of total Web traffic will be from video. This is down to the fact that video uses more data than Web pages, images, or text files. As well as the fact that online video is growing ever more popular, with new services being launched and new viewers discovering the joy of video on demand.

ISPs are not happy with the way things are going. Most, at least in the UK, now offer services with unlimited bandwidth and downloads. More fool them, maybe, but while offering customers these kinds of deals, they are starting to complain about being burdened with the costs of delivering online video.

BBC Vs. BT

This month began with the BBC complaining that BT Broadband customers on the 8 megabit per second (MBPS) package were having their bandwidth throttled if they watched the iPlayer at peak times. Customers who do so are seeing their service reduced to under 1Mbps between 1700 and midnight.

Now, according to the Financial Times, BT has gone one stage further, not only defending its actions but threatening that the situation has got to change or there will be consequences. John Petter, managing director of BT Retail’s consumer business reportedly said:

“We can’t give the content providers a completely free ride and continue to give customers the [service] they want at the price they expect.”

“[video sites consuming bandwidth is a] much bigger issue than the BBC iPlayer, it’s true of all forms of video content coming across the web. It’s becoming a more and more pressing issue.”

Petter is essentially asking the video sites to help BT and other ISPs pay for the costs they are generating for them. He even suggests that doing so could guarantee picture quality, which sounds like blackmail to me, or at least you scratch our back and we’ll scratch yours. I guess net neutrality hasn’t reached the UK yet.

Conclusions

I can certainly understand the ISPs concerns, because YouTube, the BBC iPlayer, Hulu, and the like do take a lot of bandwidth to operate. And the emergence of HD services is only going to make this worse. But surely it’s up to the ISPs to individually price their services to cover the costs of carrying online video traffic.

While it may mean we as consumers end up losing the unlimited packages which have become standard, it would seem the only plausible solution in a capitalist system. Especially as I think each and every online video service paying each and every ISP would be an impossible-to-manage idea.

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