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BBC on demand service to launch in July

27/06/07 - The BBC has announced that its on demand internet service, the iPlayer, will launch to the public on 27 July. It allows UK users to download BBC shows over the internet seven days after they have been broadcast and watch them on their PC.
After the launch the service will also be made available via YouTube and may be accessible through links on sites like MSN, Bebo, and Facebook.

It will initially only be available for Windows PC users with a Mac version possibly available by autumn.

Eventually live streaming of programmes and "series stacking", a service that lets users to download episodes from series retrospectively, will be added.

Speaking about the launch of the iPlayer BBC Director General Mark Thompson said: "Forty years ago, in July 1967, BBC Television launched colour TV. This July we are going to launch the iPlayer and in our view, the iPlayer is at least as big a redefinition of what TV can be."

The service has been in development since 2003 but only received final approval from the BBC Trust in April of this year.

Many other broadcasters offer on demand services via their websites such as Channel 4 and ITV have announced plans for their own service.

It will make a majority of the BBC's most popular programmes such as 'Life on Mars', 'Doctor Who' and 'Eastenders' available on demand, as well as major sporting events, including Euro 2008.

The downloaded programmes will be regulated by the digital rights managements system (DRM) supplied by Microsoft.

Once a program has been viewed in its entirety it will be automatically deleted, this has drawn criticism of the service from the advocacy group the Open Source Consortium (OSC).

They have argued against the iPlayer for placing restrictions on the downloaded content and the fact that it is launching as a Windows only service.

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<a href="http://www.pulsewebhosting.com/news/bbc-on-demand-service-to-launch-in-july/112/" title="BBC on demand service to launch in July">BBC on demand service to launch in July</a> Published Date: 2007-06-27 14:51:30

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