The BBC iPlayer is currently a free service to all those living in the UK. However, that could be about to change, with the BBC considering a range of options to cover the cost of the service, currently not a part of the TV license fee. So, would you pay to use the BBC iPlayer?

The BBC iPlayer

The BBC iPlayer is an astoundingly solid and reliable service which offers all UK residents the chance to watch BBC programming for up to seven days after broadcast. It has gained in popularity massively over the last year or so and is now used by a fair portion of British television viewers.

With that in mind, you’d think that the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) would be happy with the way things are going with its Web strategy. And it is to a certain extent. However, there’s one massive loophole that the BBC, or at least its technology chief Erik Huggers, thinks needs closing. As usual, it comes down to money.

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Just one day after it emerged Hulu was cracking down on anonymous proxy servers, it has announced a raft of international television deals which sees non-U.S. content coming to the service. But are international viewers welcomed alongside the new content? Are they hell.

Hulu Makes International Deals

I wasn’t planning on writing two posts about Hulu on two successive days, after all, I’d rather not give the company publicity until it starts treating international viewers fairly. But that’s how it is. Yesterday saw Hulu make a concerted effort to prevent non-U.S. residents from using the service, and now comes another kick in the teeth.

Hulu has signed deals, its first with international content providers, with Endemol, the Digital Rights Group, and Saavn. Content from all three companies will now be made available to watch on Hulu. These deals are just the first three of many the company hopes to make with non-U.S. content providers in the months to come.

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Disney content is now on Hulu, and in exchange The Walt Disney Company has taken an equal-third share of the service. Who wins and who loses in this deal? Is Hulu’s future all rosy or are there dark clouds on the horizon?

Disney Deals

At the end of March it was announced that short-form clips of Disney shows would be coming to YouTube. At the same time, The Walt Disney Company was said to be having discussions with Hulu about possibly coming on board.

A month later, almost to the day, and that deal has now been officially announced. Disney is now an equal partner in Hulu alongside the founding companies of NBC Universal and News Corp. Hulu will get content from ABC, ABC Daytime, SOAPnet, and The Disney Channel. While Disney will get a 27 percent share in the company.

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Google has had to get tough on copyright violations on YouTube. Fair enough. But surely removing a video clip featuring footage shot live by someone on their own camera is going a little too far.

YouTube Copyright Infringement

Copyright-infringement has always been a problem on YouTube. The early days of the site (pre-Google) saw YouTube filled with clips which very obviously infringed on many content owners copyrights. Which is why Viacom chose to file a $1 billion lawsuit against the company.

The situation has improved in recent years. Once Google acquired the site for $1.65 billion in November, 2006, it knew something serious had to be done in order to stop the flagrant abuse. Hence the introduction of the much-maligned Video Identification System, an anti-piracy tool which allows content owners to quickly and easily identify on of their clips.

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Old media and new media are often uncomfortable bedfellows. The old knows it needs the new but cannot quite give up its stranglehold just yet. And it means both sides are losing out in the money department.

Susan Boyle is the latest star of Britain’s Got Talent and online video. This Scottish diva, who until a few weeks ago was an unknown 47-year-old lady living with her cats, is now a viral video star known the world over.

The Poor Viral Video Star

Just a few days ago we discussed how Boyle had truly taken the world by storm thanks to YouTube. The various clips of her on the site have now been seen by well over 100 million people, and that figure is sure to increase as she makes more appearances leading up to the final of the ITV show.

However, due to some petty squabbling over the type of advertising which should appear against these clips, neither YouTube or ITV have made any money from them. The original clip of Boyle singing I Dreamed A Dream from Les Miserables in front of a shocked Simon Cowell and company may have been seen by more than 40 million people to date, but the lack of adverts on the clip means a huge payday has been missed out on.

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The chances are you have heard of Susan Boyle, the Scottish singer featured on Britain’s Got Talent recently. If you’re outside of the UK then you probably found out about this lady via the Internet. Susan Boyle once again shows the power of viral video.

Susan Boyle - International Star

Susan Boyle is a phenomenon that shows no sign of disappearing anytime soon. While her original performance on the British television show, Britain’s Got Talent, was watched by a few million people enjoying a bit of Saturday night TV, videos featuring Boyle have now gone global and viral.

Below is the video that started it all, showing Boyle singing I Dreamed a Dream from Les Miserables, embeddable thanks to MySpace. The YouTube version has ‘Embedded Disabled By Request’ after ITV, the makers of Britain’s Got Talent, obviously decided it didn’t want to share the clip without certain restrictions being put in place.

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Video games consoles are rapidly becoming an important part of the distribution of online video. Already available on Microsoft’s Xbox 360, it looks as though Netflix video streaming could soon be headed for the Sony PS3 and Nintendo Wii as well. Fingers crossed.

Video Games Consoles

The current-gen of games consoles seem made for the distribution and delivery of online video. All of the three home consoles, the PS3, the Xbox 360, and the Wii, can all be hooked up to the Internet, and most are in order to allow gamers to play online against other people.

But being hooked up to the Net also means streaming video and video downloads become a part of the consoles’ repertoire. And with consoles installed and hooked up to the Net in millions of homes around the world, it’s a market just waiting to be tapped by companies which realize the potential that exists.

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