BBC iPlayer gets green light
On-demand catch-up TV service to bow this year
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A key part of the pubcaster's digital strategy, iPlayer was approved Monday by the Beeb's new regulatory body, the BBC Trust.
Users will be able to download episodes of BBC shows such as "EastEnders" and "Doctor Who" and store them on their hard drives for up to 30 days following transmission.
But restrictions have been imposed. These stipulate that no more than 15% of the content on the iPlayer can be available for so-called series stacking
-- enabling users to download multiple episodes from a series.
Only certain types of shows will be made available, such as drama series with a limited run.
But, significantly, the iPlayer will allow auds to store previous episodes while the series is being broadcast and not just for the week following original transmission.
BBC director general Mark Thompson hailed the move and said the trust's public value test had been "extremely rigorous and exhaustive."
"This is a significant decision as the new on-demand proposals are at the heart of the BBC's creative future," he added.
The trust had received an unprecedented 10,608 submissions on the iPlayer proposals; the overwhelming majority supported the proposals.
The iPlayer, initially available only on PCs with Windows operating systems, will cost $264 million over five years.
The trust will monitor progress and said it expects the service to be available to non-Windows users within "a reasonable time frame."
