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BBC Worldwide and Netflix reach licensing deal
Wednesday 21 December 2011 11:15:36 by Andrew Ferguson

Netflix has added another chunk of content in time for its launch in the UK and Ireland. BBC Worldwide has struck a licensing deal with the video on demand provider to bring a wide range of BBC content onto the platform, including series like Little Britain, Fawlty Towers, Torchwood and Spooks.

Studios such as MGM, Lionsgate and Miramax are already on board in terms of content. BBC Worldwide is the commercial arm of the BBC, and as such exists to generate income to supplement the license fee.

Netflix will go head to head with the Amazon backed LoveFilm service when it launches in the UK, though having seen Netflix running in the US, the games console interface and streaming quality appeared significantly better than what I've experienced from LoveFilm in the UK.

[ Topic: Content | 17 comments | link to this item ]

Comments

Posted by Apilar 5 months ago
I hope Nextflix will force LoveFilm to up their game. The quality of LoveFilm sucks and there's a tiny amount of streaming content.

Posted by asylum_seeker 5 months ago
I'm already using Netflix on my Boxee Box (via a VPN) for less than tenner than a month. I can watch pretty much anything on there and the quality is just superb on my telly...whether its SD or HD. Since we live in rip-off Britain, i suspect Netflix UK are going to charge a lot more than 10 notes a month for an unlimited viewing package...in that case i will stay with Netflix USA :)

Posted by otester 5 months ago
Or just get them off torrent for free where quality is almost guaranteed every time, and you're also not funding the MPAA/RIAA which is taking away your digital freedom.

Posted by andrew ( staff member) 5 months ago
Which in turn encourages the MPAA/RIAA to do even more, while at the same time providing zero reward for content creators.

Posted by otester 5 months ago
@andrew

They aren't doing this for profit, they want complete control over media distribution like they used to have pre-internet.

They've even attacked purely legal sites in the past which had no copyrighted content/links at all.

If content creators want rewards then need to use non-MPAA/RIAA labels/studios.

Posted by andrew ( staff member) 5 months ago
Attacked? Proof? Sites?

Posted by fibrebunny 5 months ago
Lovefilm is in serious need of competition when it comes to streaming. I'm still amazed they have the cheek to charge for some content at such poor quality.

Posted by otester 5 months ago
@andrew

Got me, originally thinking Grooveshark, but they do have copyrighted material/links, but are protected under DMCA safe harbor, yet still attacked.

Then you have the Megaupload take down abuses by Universal, taking down legal content.

Posted by andrew ( staff member) 5 months ago
By attacked do you mean hacked and taken off line?

Or the other route, of complaining about content and requesting a site e.g. YouTube to remove what someone says is infringing material?

In which case YouTube and Universal with their private agreement are perhaps both to blame.

Posted by otester 5 months ago
@andrew

Sued/taken offline.

Apart from the Megaupload song which Universal got blocked on YouTube falsely (Google-Universal pact), Megaupload gave Universal access to a tool to remove infringing content from their system which Universal abused.

Posted by otester 5 months ago
Also you merely have to look behind the curtain, take EMI for instance, owned by Citigroup, then you have Mandelson at that Rothschild hosted dinner.

The banker elite want internet censorship and copyright is their trojan horse.

Posted by zyborg47 5 months ago
i will stick with renting my DVds/Blue-rays from Lovefilm, streaming a waste of time on 3.5 megabits.

Anyway,why would I want to pay to stream BBc stuff that I have already paid for?

Posted by AspieMum 5 months ago
Streaming doesn't work on my internet connection unless you get lucky (although iPlayer streaming does work a lot better through the Wii). I'm going to stick with DVDs and iPlayer (downloading then watching on the computer and streaming on the Wii).

Posted by otester 5 months ago
@AspieMum

Whoe's your provider?

Posted by chrysalis 5 months ago
What I would like to see from the bbc is their older content from the 70s and 80s, it cannot be found anywhere.

Posted by otester 5 months ago
@chrysalis

Such as?

Posted by chrysalis 5 months ago
older seasons of casualty, grange hill, older episodes of eastenders some examples. the bbc are sitting on a treasure chest of unavailable content but wont release it.