Media Factsheet-
083 The impact of new media on TV
The BBC Licence Fee in the UK,
BBC services is funded by a licence fee. In 2011, the cost of a full licence
was £145.50 with various concessions available for those with black and white
television or vision impairments. The cost of the licence fee covers eight
television channels, thirteen national radio networks, local radio and online
services.
‘’The BBC’s on demand service,
BBC iPlayer, offers the audience the chance to view or listen to content at a
later time than its original broadcast.’’
The iPlayer says “My job is to make sure we are in touch with
what audiences want from the service, by analysing user statistics about what
is being used the most or the least, and by asking people directly what they’d
choose to change in BBCiPlayer if they could.’’
Who is
allowed to watch the BBC iPlayer?
‘’A TV licence is required to watch BBC content online – a
result of changing viewing habits and an attempt to stem financial losses. The
corporation hopes more people will decide to start paying than stop watching’’
Why was a licence not
needed for catch-up in the first place?
The current legislation governing TV licences was originally
part of the 2003 Communications Act; the iPlayer was not launched until 2007.
In recent years more people have shifted to catch-up and online viewing, making
rules written more than a decade ago even more outdated.
While the average person in the UK still spends about 80% of
their viewing time watching live or recorded TV, that figure is falling. Among
younger generations the average is less than half that, and increasing numbers
are not watching (or recording) live TV at all.
Media
Factsheet- 104 Audiences in the digital age
Television
Traditional
Distribution/Exhibiting:
Television was restricted to a limited number of channels.
Programmes were broadcast at set times and only occasionally
repeated. Programmes could be recorded on video.
Digitised
Distribution/Exhibiting:
Satellite and cable provided access to digital channels and subsequently
the number of channels available increased.
Digital home recording became available via TiVo/Sky+ etc.
Channels offered ‘plus 1’ channels repeating all shows an hour
later.
Most channels/digital providers offer audiences ‘on demand ‘services
where television programmes can be viewed at any time either on TV or on-line.
TV programmes are available to download and watch on mobile
devices.
Audience Behaviour
Digital media has provided more choice in terms of how and
when media products are accessed. Live TV viewing and attendance at cinemas is
in decline. Social networking has replaced institutional based media for some
whilst others access media products in alternative ways, such as streaming
on-line, downloading or DVD/ Blu-ray. iPlayer allows BBC television programmes
to be downloaded to a mobile device which can then be viewed anywhere and at
any time. Viewers are no longer tied to schedules or locations.
Has allowed audiences to have a more proactive relationship
with institutions and they can be seen to be much more active than in the past.
Audiences can be seen to have more of an impact on production and can even be
part of the production process themselves. Some see this as a positive move
that reduces the amount of power held by institutions.
Media
Factsheet- 113 TV & Social Media
As we discussed earlier, watching TV is far from a passive
activity with viewers quietly consuming what is screened in front of them. Far
from bringing in a radical change to the way we watch TV, social media could be
said to build on existing audience behaviours. Recent figures tell us that 60%
of smartphone owners and 65% of tablet computer owners use their devices while
watching TV. Furthermore, 40% of all Twitter traffic during peak times is about
TV. There is clearly a very close relationship between Twitter and television.
The phenomenon of the tweet-along is an interesting
development in the way audiences consume TV. Fans of shows such as The X-Factor
are able to exchange views about the show in real time as it is broadcast by
using social networking tools, especially Twitter. By using a hashtag (#),
Twitter users can categorise their tweets and send messages that other people
that are also watching the show can read, building a real time discussion of
the show as it is broadcast. Far from being a modern distraction that prevents
people from concentrating on the show, twitter takes discussions that are
already going on in the room amongst the family and broadens them out across
the country. Opinions that viewers hundreds of miles away are tweeting about
the show can be introduced to the family discussion and form part of their
conversation.
What Does It All
Mean?
The growing level of engagement on Twitter shows that
audiences still value the communal experience of watching TV. Whereas people
used to discuss TV at school or work the next day, those conversations are
happening in real time as the programmes are being shown. This interaction also
means that people will continue to watch TV live to air rather than relying on
time shifting for much of their viewing. Twitter offers viewers a new way to
talk about their favourite shows and to interact with TV. Their tweets can be
analysed by broadcasters to find out valuable information about the audience
which is hugely useful for advertisers and programme makers. It seems that social
media and TV were almost made for each other. It will be interesting to see how
the relationship develops.
BBC iPlayer
users will have to pay TV licence fee from 1 September
Though the vast majority of households own a TV licence,
those without one who only watch catch-up content and not live broadcasts were
technically exempt from paying the £145 a year charge.
The government had promised to close the loophole, which
already costs the BBC about £150m a year and is likely to increase, during
negotiations last summer that also saw the corporation agree to shoulder the £750m
burden of free licence fees for the over-75s.
A spokesperson for TV licensing said: “As of 1 September
2016, a change in the law means you need to be covered by a TV licence to
download or watch BBC programmes on demand – including catch-up TV – on BBC
iPlayer. This applies to all devices. The change will not affect the huge
majority of households which are already licensed.
“Fewer than 2% of households only watch catch-up – and only
those watching BBC iPlayer as part of their catch-up and on-demand viewing will
need to buy a licence from September. You will not need a TV licence to
download or watch programmes on demand from other providers, such as YouTube,
Netflix, ITV Hub, All 4 or Demand 5. All unlicensed households are being mailed
and a publicity campaign will happen before 1 September.”
IPlayer
licence rules have changed – but there's one loophole left for students
The news was a blow to many heading to university this
month, given that so few will be bringing a TV along with them. According to
research by TV Licensing, iPlayer is the most popular catch-up platform among
students, with the vast majority watching programmes on their laptops and
phones.
The change adds to students’ mounting financial burdens this
year, including tuition fee rises and the recent scrapping of maintenance
grants. A petition against the rule, launched by a Loughborough University student,
has gained more than 18,000 signatures.
However, it appears one loophole will remain open: students
will still be able to access the iPlayer for free on mobile devices that are
registered at their parents’ address. (This will work only as long as it is
registered as the student’s primary address.)
The BBC statement reads: “In limited circumstances, students
can be covered by the licence at their parents’ address. The device must be
powered by its own internal batteries – for example, a tablet or mobile phone –
and must not be plugged it into the mains when receiving television. This use
is enabled by the regulations governing TV Licensing.
Failure to obey the new law will result in a fine of up to
£1,000, but just how the BBC will be able to tell if your device is plugged
into the mains or not remains to be seen. For now, it seems that most students
will still be able to get their Bake-Off fix for free.
BBC iPlayer
faces complete overhaul in Tony Hall's future-proofing plans
The iPlayer was not the first video-on-demand service in the
UK, but it set the standard for online TV globally following its launch in
2007. However, it has faced increasing competition from new global players such
as Netflix and Amazon Instant Video with huge research and development budgets.
Netflix in particular has led the way on personalisation, using machine
learning to get better at suggesting programmes based on what you have already
watched.
Figures from regulator Ofcom published last summer showed
that at the end of 2015 iPlayer was used by almost a third of the UK
population, ahead of Sky’s TV platform and web-based Netflix, both used by 16%.
In his speech, Hall will describe the iPlayer as the
corporation’s “biggest revolution” of the last 10 years, but said it needed to
transform from a catchup service into a “must-visit destination in its own
right”.
He will say: “Our goal, even in the face of rapid growth by
our competitors, is for iPlayer to be the number one online TV service in the
UK.“That will mean doubling our reach, and quadrupling the time each person
spends on it every week. And we want do it by 2020. That’s tough, but I know we
can do it.”
Government
to bring forward law to close BBC 'iPlayer loophole'
The government is to rush through legislation to close the
“iPlayer loophole”, which allows people to watch BBC shows on catchup services
without having a TV licence.
“The BBC works on the basis that all who watch it pay for
it. Giving a free ride to those who enjoy Sherlock or Bake Off an hour, a day
or a week after they are broadcast was never intended and is wrong,” he told
the Oxford Media Convention.
The offer to close the loophole, which already costs the BBC
some £150m a year – a figure that is likely to increase – was made during
negotiations with the BBC last summer that also saw the corporation agree to
shoulder the £750m burden of free licence fees for the over-75s.The white paper
outlining the government’s views on charter renewal is due to be published this
spring, but Whittingdale made little reference to its timing on Wednesday.
He also indicated that the white paper would welcome any
attempts to make BBC programming more distinctive. “On distinctiveness, there
is no doubt that at its best the BBC makes programmes which no one else would
do,” he said, citing programmes such as BBC1’s The Night Manager and the
forthcoming new Ben Elton comedy about Shakespeare: Upstart Crow. “But I also
agree with the director general’s aim “to create a BBC that is more distinctive
than ever – and clearly distinguishable from the market”.
BBC iPlayer
users will have to pay more to watch TV from TODAY
From today, anyone who pays the yearly fee to watch
television will see their bill increasing from £145.50 to £147.The rise doesn't
only affect people who watch content live or recorded on their TV but also
anyone accessing the service via the BBC's iPlayer app. This applies whether
they are using a TV set, computer, or any other equipment to view content. The
Government is responsible for setting the level of the licence fee, and last
year announced that it would rise in line with inflation for five years from 1
April 2017.
The move comes as part of the corporation's move to make a
"more personal" BBC. Tony Hall, BBC director general, said: "By
learning about what you want and like we can take you to more of the great
programmes you love, stories you might be interested in and content you might
otherwise never have discovered. “This is a real transformation - reinventing
public service broadcasting for the digital age." "Millions of people
are already benefitting from this more personalised BBC, and by rolling it out
for everyone no one will be left behind.”
NOW TV and
Roku users unable to access BBC iPlayer
Over the last week, customers have reported seeing an Error
404 message being displayed when they try to access the catch-up TV service.
NOW TV has confirmed the BBC is aware of the problem and is currently working
with Roku to resolve it. In the meantime, users are advised to perform a manual
system update on their device to ensure the latest version of BBC iPlayer has
been loaded onto it.
BBC iPlayer
loophole closes as licence required for catchup TV
Anyone attempting to use iPlayer to catch up on their
favourite show on Thursday will, for the first time, be presented with a
message telling them they must have a TV licence even if they aren’t watching
live. Legislation passed this year making it illegal to watch BBC catchup
content without a licence comes into force from 1 September. The move is
designed to help the BBC plug a £150m gap in its finances caused by the
increasing number of people who were opting out of the TV licence.
It is unclear how the BBC will enforce the new rules at
scale. It is considering whether to make it mandatory to sign in to use iPlayer
and other online services, but that move is aimed at improving its ability to
personalise services and learn about user behaviour.The information collected
at the moment does not include address or licence fee number, which could be
used to work out whether or not people are watching illegally.
BBC iPlayer
loophole closes as licence required for catchup TV
A BBC source said: “There are no plans for people to enter
their licence details into BBC iPlayer at present because TV Licensing has a
range of enforcement techniques they’ll continue to use. We’ll look at how
effective these are before considering whether an extra verification system is
required.”Previous reports that the BBC would begin snooping on Wi-Fi connections
to check whether people are using iPlayer are understood to be wide of the
mark. However, neither the BBC nor TV Licensing will reveal details of how they
plan to detect lawbreakers.
A TV Licensing spokesman said: “We know the vast majority of
people are law-abiding and would anticipate those who need a licence for the
first time will buy one. We have a range of enforcement techniques which we use
and these have already allowed us to prosecute people who watch on a range of
devices, not just TVs.”Monitoring Wi-Fi connections en masse would be expensive
and potentially illegal. The BBC is entitled to use powers under the Regulation
of Investigatory Powers Act to carry out surveillance on people it suspects of
using BBC services without a licence. However, this is more likely to take the
form of surveilling homes to view or hear people watching BBC content.
Mass
surveillance ruled out as BBC iPlayer loophole closes
Mass surveillance will not be used to catch people who watch
catch-up BBC content following the introduction on Thursday of new rules to
close the “iPlayer loophole”. Enforcement body TV Licensing said it expected
the vast majority of people to “obey the rules” which extend the requirement
for a licence beyond live viewing.
Reports had suggested that the BBC would use a new “fleet”
of detector vans to monitor Wi-Fi connections for people using iPlayer.
However, a spokesman for TV Licensing told Press Association it did not plan to
carry out any form of mass surveillance.
“We expect most people will simply obey the law,” he said.
“We are not going to use mass surveillance techniques, we are not going to ask
internet providers for IP addresses, and in fact we will simply use existing
enforcement processes and techniques which we believe to be adequate and
appropriate.”
Mass
surveillance ruled out as BBC iPlayer loophole closes
Neither the BBC nor TV Licensing are prepared to discuss the
techniques they use to identify people who do not have not paid the £145.50 a
year fee but still watch BBC content. However, they are authorised to use
various forms of more targeted surveillance under the Regulation of
Investigatory Powers Act. In July the government introduced legislation to
close the loophole, which the BBC claims is costing it as much as £150m a year.
The move was agreed as part of negotiations over the future shape and funding
of the corporation which is having to make major cuts after being told to cover
the more than £700m cost of providing free licences to the over-75s.
Though people watching catch-up BBC content online will now
be asked to confirm that they have a licence, there are doubts about how to
enforce the rules at scale. The BBC has said it does not have plans to introduce
a sign-in linked to licences.
A BBC Source told the Guardian on Wednesday: “There are no
plans for people to enter their licence details into BBC iPlayer at present
because TV Licensing has a range of enforcement techniques they’ll continue to
use. We’ll look at how effective these are before considering whether an extra
iPlayer
licence rules have changed – but there's one loophole left for students
It seemed that the show was over for students watching
iPlayer free of charge when it was announced that downloading or viewing
on-demand BBC programmes online would require a TV licence.
The news was a blow to many heading to university this
month, given that so few will be bringing a TV along with them. According to
research by TV Licensing, iPlayer is the most popular catch-up platform among
students, with the vast majority watching programmes on their laptops and
phones.
The change adds to students’ mounting financial burdens this
year, including tuition fee rises and the recent scrapping of maintenance
grants. A petition against the rule, launched by a Loughborough University
student, has gained more than 18,000 signatures.
iPlayer
licence rules have changed – but there's one loophole left for students
An official BBC press release specifically addresses
students, saying that they will need a licence for BBC iPlayer and are
therefore not exempt from the £145.50 annual fee.But one loophole remains
However, it appears one loophole will remain open: students
will still be able to access the iPlayer for free on mobile devices that are
registered at their parents’ address. (This will work only as long as it is
registered as the student’s primary address.)
The BBC statement reads: “In limited circumstances, students
can be covered by the licence at their parents’ address. The device must be
powered by its own internal batteries – for example, a tablet or mobile phone –
and must not be plugged it into the mains when receiving television. This use
is enabled by the regulations governing TV Licensing. “This excludes PCs, but
covers laptops and phones (as it always has done).
How will
the BBC detect people watching iPlayer without a licence?
Tales of vans driving around peeking into people’s homes to
catch them watching the BBC without a TV licence have been a staple of the
right-wing press for years (and more recently, an extremist wing of anti-TV
licensing Twitter) but this weekend the Telegraph put an alarming new twist on
the story.
“BBC vans to snoop on internet users” cried the headline,
warning that from next month a fleet of vehicles will “fan out across the
country capturing information from private Wi-Fi networks in hopes to ‘sniff
out’ those who have not paid the licence fee”.
The story was based on a report published by the National
Audit Office last month, which said the BBC had demonstrated its ability to
detect people watching live programming (the Telegraph decided not to mention
the reference to live viewing only) on a “range of non-TV devices”.
Besides, there are other ways for the BBC to tell who is
watching without paying. It has ruled out combing its own records of computers
that have logged in to iPlayer and matching those up to licences, but it is
authorised to use anti-terror legislation – the Regulation of Investigatory
Powers Act – to target people it already suspects of watching without a
licence. It could, in theory, use that authorisation to access internet records
of which sites you have visited. Even if surveillance vans were used, a targeted
approach, and one that didn’t monitor Wi-Fi traffic, would make more sense. In
the long run, a more elegant solution would be to require a code linked to your
TV licence to access iPlayer.0
