British broadcaster BBC is spearheading the push into multi-screen entertainment taking shape around the world with a raft of projects to soothe viewers' red-hot itch for more on-demand services. The aim is to give viewers access not only to the BBC's current programmes but also to its rich vein of archives.
"Our audience increasingly want and expect to dictate how, when, and where they get our services," BBC technology and new media director Ashley Highfield said on April 18 to a packed house at the world's largest broadcasting and audio-visual trade show, MIPTV/MILIA.
The broadcaster plans to make available its vast treasure-trove of over one million hours of video, audio and supporting programme notes and scripts on its website.
The goal, BBC said, is to bridge the gap between traditional television and the mushrooming digital world and give audiences a richer entertainment environment.
The arrival of on-demand services, which has revolutionised the way many use television, has been one of the main issues dominating this year's MIPTV/MILIA trade show, set to wrap up on April 20.
"If broadcasters don't seize this day then audiences will themselves," stated BBC top executive Jana Bennett, who shared the stage with Highfield.
It also appears increasingly clear that audiences want to be able to download quality content to watch where and when they choose.
While people post a mind-boggling variety of mostly poor quality videos onto video-sharing sites like YouTube, the content they download themselves tends to be made by professionals, Jason Hirschhorn, the president of Sling Entertainment, pointed out.
They claim that by offering television over the Internet they can deliver a superior viewing experience in a safe "walled garden" that gives audiences high definition picture quality along with features like built-in video-on-demand, two-way interactivity and e-commerce capabilities. Silvio Scaglia, founder of Internet television start-up Babelgum, however, insisted the new services were not a threat, but rather a compliment, to traditional broadcasters.
By making its vast archives available, the BBC hopes to enjoy the benefits of greatly extending the shelf life of its programmes. As the next step towards opening its archives to British television licence holders, the broadcaster will launch an on-demand trial involving over 20,000 people next month, Highfield said.
The trial aims to test what old programmes people really want to see, whether they want to see them in full length or in clip compilations and when they wish to view them. The BBC also hopes to launch an "iPlayer" service that would enable viewers to catch up on programmes they missed through the Web and cable television.