Consultation for the BBC's On-Demand service

You can view the proposal and fill in their response form to get your opinion heard, and make sure you do.

There are some questions on the form which lead me to think that they're really going to try and make this work well, and with their previous actions to open up some of their information for others to use I think we could have an impact if enough people respond.

You can also Digg it, maybe Kevin and Alex will talk about it on Diggnation.

Here's my response, just in case you're reading this after it's all finished:

Question 1

Do you agree with the BBC Trust's proposal to approve the new BBC on-demand services, subject to the modifications outlined in the Trust's report of its provisional conclusions?

I think it is a fantastic idea that the BBC should finally be embracing new technologies.

Question 2

In a market in which most broadcasters are expected to be offering on-demand services, would you agree that it is a priority for the BBC to be investing in this area?

Yes, modernising the delivery methods of a world-famous broadcaster such as the BBC is a very important thing to do.

Question 3

The BBC Trust has proposed setting a limit of 30 days as the amount of time that programmes can be stored on a computer before being viewed. As this is a nascent market, there is currently no clear standard on the length of the storage window. On balance, the Trust thinks 30 days is the right length of time. How long do you think consumers should be able to store BBC programmes on their computers before viewing them?

As this is a publicly funded organisation the license payers ('consumers') should be able to store the programmes indefinitely whether already watched or not. We should also be legally allowed to pass recordings onto other license payers without restrictions.

Question 4

The BBC Trust concluded that public value would be created by allowing series stacking. This would allow viewers to catch-up with all episodes of a series for the duration of its run. The Trust recognised that although it would provide increased opportunities to view BBC programmes, it could also deter people from buying DVDs or using commercial video-on-demand services. Do you consider series stacking to be a useful feature? What kind of series would you expect to be included? Should there be any limitation on the number of episodes of a series made available for catch-up or the length of time for which they can be viewed?

Again, because the BBC is publically funded, the programmes available on-demand should be all episodes of a series, at least until the DVDs are available (with some overlap of course if the series is still being aired, etc).

Series which are not released on DVD should be kept on the on-demand service indefinitely. This would give some incentive to release DVDs of all series, and not just the most popular.

Serials such as Eastenders cannot feasibly be kept forever, so a catch-up service of at least 2 weeks could be offered instead, maybe also offering some 'milestone' episodes such as key characters dying/court cases/weddings/etc for any characters which are currently in the programme.

Question 5

How important is it that the proposed seven-day catch-up service over the internet is available to consumers who are not using Microsoft software?

VERY critical. At home I do not use Microsoft software at all. I have one Linux and two Apple Mac computers.

I also think it is unacceptable to offer only a Real Media stream, as this is not very good quality, and doesn't work very well on any platform.

Question 6

Should the BBC be allowed to offer book readings from its radio services as audio downloads over the internet?

The BBC should be allowed to offer any recordings available over the internet.

Question 7

The BBC Trust concluded there was fine balance between public value and market impact in deciding whether to allow the BBC to offer audio downloads of classical music. While such downloads could help introduce new listeners to classical music, they could also deter purchases of commercial recordings. What is your view on whether - and to what extent - the BBC should be allowed to offer radio broadcasts of classical music as audio downloads over the internet?

Compositions which are out of copyright should be allowed to be made available for as long as desired. Other compositions could be made available as either an abridged version, or only the latest 10.

Question 8

How important is it to you that the BBC provides some means for parents to control which of its programmes are accessible on-demand to children? Is such a facility necessary or is it more a matter for parents to exercise controls over how children use the internet?

I do not have children of my own, but if I did, it would be quite important to be able to control the content they are able to view. Either with a password of some sort to unlock it, or a per-program allowance controlled from another computer (in the case that the children have their own computer to watch on-demand TV).

Question 9

What are your views on whether the BBC should offer content from non-BBC providers on the on-demand service on its website?

If the BBC were to offer non-BBC content, it should be made clear that the content will be offered under the same rules/restrictions as BBC content, and that the third-party broadcaster could not dictate additional restrictions. This will ensure that all content on the service is available equally.

Question 10

What are your views on whether and how the BBC should make available on-demand content on services run by other providers - such as multi-channel services or internet-based audio and video downloading services?

If the service the BBC offer will be flexible enough to allow the consumer to view how/where they want, then I see no reason why the BBC could not be the center of the on-demand industry within the UK.

Question 11

Do the revisions proposed to BBC Service Licences to allow the new services to go ahead seem appropriate?

Yes, these provisions seem appropriate. The user perception of the service should be key metric in deciding the quality of the service and the way forward.

Question 12

Are there any other issues you would like the BBC Trust to consider in relation to the proposed services?

The on-demand service should be flexible enough to allow consumers to view the content the way they would like to, for instance full-screen on their computer, or via an TV with a networked media receiver set-top-box. The provision should also allow for offline viewing, but I think this has already been covered by the provisions.