BBC to open up its archive
The BBC has announced plans to open up its archive to licence-fee payers. Nearly one million hours of TV and radio from the BBC archives will be put on the internet for viewers to watch, listen to and download free of charge.
The implications are significant - thousands of hours of comedy, some of which has never been repeated, will at last be accessible to the public. The move will also end the long wait for many obscure comedies to be released on DVD - under these plans, fans will now be able to download the shows they've been wanting to re-watch free of charge from the BBC website.
The BBC's Future Media boss Ashley Highfield announced the plan at an industry conference in Cannes. He said the corporation's end ambition was to "one day enable any viewer to access any BBC programme ever broadcast via their television or PC."
A trial involving 20,000 users will begin next month. 1,000 hours of content drawn from a mix of genres will be made available to the group selected to take part. About 50 hours - of both TV and radio programmes - will be available in an open environment for general access too.
Mr Highfield said of the trial: "It will test what old programmes people really want to see, from Man Alive to The Liver Birds, how they want to see them - full length or clip compilations, and when they want them - in 'lean-forward' exploratory mode similar to web surfing, or as a scheduled experience more akin to TV viewing."
The aim of the trial is also to allow the BBC to understand just how much content should be offered free to viewers and "where to draw the line between a licence fee funded service and a commercial service". The concern being that offering too much content free with damage the BBC's revenue stream from DVD sales. It's expected that when the full system launches 'premium' shows will be added as pay-per-view items and that users who have not paid a licence fee (e.g. overseas viewers) will have to pay-per-view too.
It should be noted that opening up of the BBC archives is not problem free. Apart from the bandwidth concerns the corporation will have to obtain clearance to make many of its shows available to download. Although it owns the copyright to most shows, the BBC does not have the right to repeat many of them. Actors, agents, composers and presenters have to be contacted - a process which is proving to be very time-consuming according to BBC executives.
Ultimately, however, the BBC says it is committed to making every programme available, no matter how trivial or obscure. Highfield explained: "Lots of it [the archive] might not be of wider interest, but if your mum was on a daytime quiz show, it will still be of interest to you".
The BBC also plans to make a huge amount of supporting material available, including scripts, programme notes and letters relating to shows. If it can secure permission to use them, they will make up a huge database of documents that viewers can search easily and quickly.
Much of archive could be available nationally as early as next year however for now the BBC is just looking for the 20,000 UK residents to take part in the trial. According to the registration website the participants will get "free access to hundreds of programmes from the BBC archive, including reports of historic events as they happened, ground-breaking documentaries, soaps, action-packed children's shows, sumptuous dramas, and comedy shows that thrilled the nation." If you would like to apply to join the trial visit www.bbc.co.uk/archive
The BBC's proposed iPlayer service is also expected to launch soon however it is subject to approval from the BBC Trust. If launched, the iPlayer will offer a seven-day catch-up service for viewers.