Not available On iPad or my TV!

I do like BBC iPlayer and I like how it allows me to watch BBC programmes when and where I want to…

Well nearly…

There are still a fair few programmes that are only available through a traditional web browser and are not available via my iPad, my TV (which has BBC iPlayer access built in) or to download.

So for example on my iPhone there are only three films available to watch.

However via my web browser I can see six films including National Treasure: Book of Secrets which isn’t available on the iPhone.

The reason is not technical, but a rights issue. Most new BBC programmes are available in many different ways via BBC iPlayer, this is because the BBC has secured the rights to do this from the production company (that makes the programme) and (probably) the talent in the programme.

Older programmes that are repeated were made at a time when BBC iPlayer was either not technically viable or wasn’t even a consideration or who would know what was possible in the future… so such rights would not have been secured.

With films such as National Treasure: Book of Secrets when the BBC “buys” the film for showing on their channel, they don’t necessarily also buy the rights for mobile distribution or download. This means that the film is only available via the web browser. Some films won’t even be available via iPlayer.

So the solution? Well unless I go and buy the film or programme in iTunes, I will either have to watch it when it is broadcast, on my computer or record it.

One Reply to “Not available On iPad or my TV!”

  1. While your explanation of these peculiar anomalies is extremely lucid, there’s something inherently barmy about the distinctions that get made within these licences. For example, I currently have an old Mac Mini connected to my TV, one of the things it does is give me iPlayer in the living room, which is great. It, being a computer, gives me full access to everything you can get in your computer’s browser (even if not your phone’s, etc.). However, not having a UI design for viewing from ten foot away, it’s not the ideal solution, and I’m considering replacing it with a blu-ray player from Sony which would come with iPlayer built in… Even though in almost every respect this would deliver the same content to me in exactly the same place, it would have the drawback that I would miss out on the programmes you describe.

    That just seems daft to me. Convergence has arrived, and the distinction is no longer valid.

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