BBC1 to start live broadcasting of top shows

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BBC1 TV shows to be broacast live on internet
Carrie-Ann Skinner
www.pcadvisor.co.uk

Doctor Who, Eastenders and other BBC1 TV shows are to be broadcast live on the internet. Within months all BBC1 programmes will be simulcast on its website and will be available free of charge to anyone with internet access. The announcement follows a similar move by ITV. Digital channels BBC3 and BBC News are already broadcast live online while the BBC iPlayer allows users to download and watch a selection of the corporation's most popular shows for up to seven days after their TV transmission.

However, the move has raised concerns over TV licence fees. TV Licensing, the body which collects the licence fee, said households will still need to pay the licence fee if they use a computer to watch programmes. "There is no separate enforcement policy regarding people using their computers to watch TV. It forms part of our normal enforcement operation," said a TV Licensing spokesperson

However many fear policing it may be almost impossible. Tory MP Philip Davies, who sits on the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee, told the Daily Mail: "This seems to be the beginning of the end of the licence fee without a shadow of a doubt. Computers are mobile, people take them around with them. Presumably even this government wouldn't introduce a tax on computers or laptops in order to pay for the BBC."

It is rumoured the service will cost the BBC £100,000 a year.

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I'm sure this will only be for UK viewers, but I really can't see a reason why people in other countries shouldn't be able to pay for a licence and watch.