Anya ,'Sleeper'
Off-topic discussion. Wanna talk about corsets, pandas, duct tape, or physics? This is the place. Detailed discussion of any current-season TV must be whitefonted.
If, for example, you can't watch Torchwood in the US, you might buy the DVDs.
Brits pay a license fee to fund the BBC. I don't. While it'd be terribly nice if they decided to use their taxes to let me watch things online for free... it doesn't seem entirely fair to expect it.
Not all Brits pay the license fee, but all of them can view the clips, so that's not strictly the dividing line.
It's more that I keep forgetting that I find annoying, not so much the fact of not having access. I mean, where there's a will, after all.
I don't think the BBC cares when or where anyone else in the world gets to see Doctor Who, so they don't make most of their video accessible to us. It's not their job.
The official reason for restricting access to BBC shows is that it's not fair to the license-payers for non-license-payers to see content they didn't subsidise.
Not all Brits pay the license fee, but all of them can view the clips, so that's not strictly the dividing line.
No, but only because geolocation based on IP is cheaper and easier than filtering by Actual License Payer Status.
Not all Brits pay the license fee, but all of them can view the clips, so that's not strictly the dividing line.
Plus doesn't the BBC give a message like, "You seem to not be in the UK. If you actually are in the UK, click 'Yes'," which if you click 'Yes' lets you see it anyway?
it doesn't seem entirely fair to expect it
Just to be clear, I don't have any expectation that I should have access to everything merely because I am me. Was just curious. And fake-pouty about the video clips.
The official reason for restricting access to BBC shows is that it's not fair to the license-payers for non-license-payers to see content they didn't subsidise.
I just figured it would be the flip side of NBC content not being available to Brits. Is ITV content available over here?
Which puppies? The shibas?
Yep - they've got a purple Aerobed now.
Cindy McCain has come out in support of same-sex marriage.
Cindy McCain poses for same-sex marriage campaign
I just figured it would be the flip side of NBC content not being available to Brits. Is ITV content available over here?
PBS would be a better comparison, since it's public broadcasting. (Though I actually don't know if PBS online streaming is available in other countries.)
For commercial broadcasters I think it's just a matter of getting local advertisers to pay for it (since NBC's American ad clients aren't going to pay for British viewers who may or may not be able to buy their products).
I can really only speak with authority about the BBC because those are the policies that directly affect my workplace. We've had several online projects torpedoed because even though we're the commercial arm of the company, we're apparently not supposed to actually make any money because it looks bad to license payers. (Who may or may not actually care, but that doesn't stop upper management from speaking on their behalf.)