BBC Programmes to be made available on iTunes

If you’re a fan of Torchwood, Doctor Who or the Mighty Boosh, you’ll be pleased to know that your favourite programme will soon be available to download via iTunes. BBC programmes are currently available to watch online for a week after their transmission date thanks the corporation’s newly launched iPlayer. However, according to new plans, you’ll soon be able to download an even wider range of classic BBC programmes for just a small sum.

As figures released by the BBC show their iPlayer to be a phenomenal success, it seems only natural that the corporation should link up with Apple’s iTunes. The figures indicate that half a million programmes are watched via the iPlayer service every day, including favourites such as Eastenders, Torchwood and Doctor Who. They also show that overall traffic to the BBC website has increased a whopping 29 per cent since the launch of the iPlayer, making the site the third most popular in Britain.

Hot on the trail of Channel 4’s On Demand and Sky Plus, the BBC’s iPlayer and their decision to sell BBC programmes via iTunes indicates a real trend for so-called anytime, anywhere television. Watching programmes online is becoming extremely popular and online viewers are now making up a sizeable chunk of overall television viewers. Ashley Highfield, the BBC’s director of future media and technology, said: “This is early days, but we think an extra 10 per cent of all viewing of programmes like Torchwood is being done online.”

Still, the iTunes plan has caused some controversy. Although iTunes users in the USA will be able to download the shows for just $1.99 (around £1), British users will have to pay £1.89. iTunes Europe director Oliver Schusser defended the price differences and was keen to emphasise that £1.89 was good value for a TV programme. He said: “Different countries have different pricing models. The UK price factors in VAT, which is not the case elsewhere.”

Source:
Guardian
Times