Should viewers be charged extra for watching the BBC iPlayer?
Should viewers be charged micro payments for watching programmes on the BBC's iPlayer? Some TV bosses think yes, the BBC says no.
The debate has gained momentum after Lorraine Heggessey, chief executive of TV production company Talkback Thames, said users should be charged small amounts to view the catch-up TV service.
Research by Talkback Thames parent company Fremantle Media apparently suggests viewers would be willing to pay up to £2 for certain shows.
But the BBC says it has no plans to introduce such a fee. "The cost of the BBC iPlayer is covered by the licence fee, so UK users have already paid for this service," says a BBC spokesperson.
The BBC spent £6m developing the iPlayer, which launched on Christmas Day 2007. It has since become a huge hit.
But with most broadcasters now offering online catch-up TV services, and with traditional advertising revenues falling in the commercial sector, there is growing support for charging for it.
Would you pay to watch the BBC iPlayer? Let us know what you think.
Comments
If iPlayer was a pay site then wouldnt "some" people just turn to illegal downloading rather than paying!?
Absolutely not.
Living in Spain, I would willingly pay the BBC a sub scription to be able to access the iPlayer. Currently I am blocked because of my IP address. It must be possible for the BBC to set up a system to allow me and many other from around the world access to it.
I appreciate there are 'rights issues' with regard to certain programmes, but this can't affect all the BBC's output surely? I know people here who subscribe to proxy ip services to access the iPlayer This is revenue which should be going to the BBC.
davidearp. I don't think its about the BBC wanting more money to fund the i player, its about the independent production companies who provide programmes to the BBC wanting more money on the grounds that viewing numbers are increased. Although given some of the rubbish they churn out they should be grateful that anyone is watching at all.
Now clarified, Kojak71
Of course we shouldn't have to pay any extra for the iPlayer!!!! We're already forced to pay for the BBC if we want to own a TV, despite the fact that we might not watch anything on the BBC! Plus we have to pay for the broadband. The only BBC TV programme that I really enjoy watching and would hate to miss is TopGear. The only BBC radio station I listen to is Radio 1 and that's only because I like the DJ's and the lack of adverts. I could live without this though. So I wouldn't mind paying £2 to watch TopGear if I didn't have to pay the license fee but seen as I'm forced to I won't be paying any extra! I hardly ever use the iPlayer as I record everything I want to watch on my MediaCentre PC anyway. If the BBC needs extra money to pay for the iPlayer they should just put some ad banners on the page. As long as they don't put adverts in the programme I don't care.
A plea to journalists out there, if you are going to quote market research, can you at least exercise some due diligence and find out how the questions were posed. Anyway, notice the careful use of language "Industry research suggests viewers would be willing to pay up to �2 for certain shows." The word "suggests" doesn't mean the majority or large minority, it means hardly anyone. And these would be the same people who think the moon is made of cheese.
I only watch a couple of hours of live TV a week, I equally only watch a few iPlayer shows and certainly wouldn't pay any extra for it. The amount I pay in licence fee already works out rather expensive given how little I watch.
I agree with cableguy, I already pay a t.v license, I dont want to pay again for programmes I might have missed.
i for one will never pay to use bbc i player after all its good but not that good. I have sky HD so dont see the point really as i dont use bbc i player that much anyway.
Plan ahead spend 1 hr a week and store all the programmes on your sky HD planner and then who needs bbc i player..
I already pay to use the BBC iPlayer - its called a television licence. What next - perhaps I should pay my National Insurance stamp all my working life and then find I have to contribute to a compulsory state-run private pension plan too? Oh.
If my license fee and taxes are going towards paying Jonathan Ross and his ilk millions of pounds a year I'll watch their programmes anytime I want thank you very much Ms Heggessey.
Are you sure you're not just missing it as it isn't on at 7pm?
My wife watches Eastenders on iPlayer, as we're rarely home from work on time for the 7pm showing. Having to pay to watch Eastenders would be criminal....