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Comment by nnq | Hacker News Reader

> the BBC is a public service broadcaster primarily funded by the licence fee paid by UK households

So DRM-ing BBC programmes would be very much alike, uhm... publishing publicly funded research in journals that require paid subscriptions? ...ain't that cute

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Not exactly, because it'd be against their own rules - the BBC is actually forbidden to encrypt its broadcasts. That's why their DVDs were always region 0 and bereft of copy-protection.

Things get a little more murky where we're talking about "downloads" as opposed to "broadcasts" - both the BBC and theit regulator, Ofcom, have confirmed on numerous occasions that it's mandatory that the BBC's "public service content remains free to air i.e. unencrypted." ( http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8352241.stm ) but they've been allowed to place limits on downloaded content such as iPlayer not letting you store content forever.

I suspect this is less about "BBC wants DRM" and more about "BBC is under massive pressure to use DRM"

Either way, I was disappointed when I first saw their submission to W3C talking about their support for DRM'd media - I've always been gratified by the way the BBC was the only big media corp. out there that wasn't chasing the dream of total control over its content. If they're making a U-turn on that I'll have to rethink my policy on paying the license fee.

(Before anyone steps up with the "it's mandatory" - it isn't if you don't own & use a TV, and I'd feel no sorrow at all about getting rid of my TV)

To be clear, it's mandatory to pay for a "TV license" if you consume live broadcasts in any way, regardless of the platform on which you do it [1]. Getting rid of your TV isn't enough if you keep your web browser tuned to BBC One on www.bbc.co.uk.

[1] http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/check-if-you-need-one/

> but they've been allowed to place limits on downloaded content such as iPlayer not letting you store content forever.

To be fair, that just follows existing UK copyright law on 'time shifting' which is explicitly mentioned in the law (as allowed) and has time limits.

I agree with your sentiments but the BBC do region code and encrypt their DVD's I know this because I have (legally) ripped several BBC DVD's that I own.

UK citizens pay for a TV license which gives them access to BBC broadcasts - through IPlayer, freeview TV, radio, and websites.

The BBC is also able to sell DVDs of their programs in the UK, and internationally (through BBC World). In theory, DRM would prevent people selling bootlegged copies that would severely impact this revenue stream.

> UK citizens pay for a TV license which gives them access to BBC broadcasts

More correctly, UK citizens pay for a TV licence which gives them access to any tv broadcast. TV and broadcast are defined in law, but it's pretty much anything broadcast live over any medium.

Thus, people living in the south of England who use a satellite dish to receive French telly (and nothing else) will need to pay a licence fee.

Weirdly, I use the BBC a lot (all day radio, Video on demand) and don't need to pay the licence.

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