A recent Freedom of Information response from the BBC
(You can also view the original PDF version if you prefer. My thanks to the BBC for providing this response!)
Dear Mo
Freedom of Information Act 2000 – reference number 20100952
Thank you for your request under the Freedom of Information Act (‘the Act’) of 13 July 2010, seeking:
- Is it, or is it not, the case that the primary reason for the BBC not providing streams to Android devices as standard MP4 containers carried by HTTP streams because the BBC is not satisfied with the level of “content protection” which this affords?
- Who is it that requires that this level of content protection be put in place, given that it clearly runs counter to the goal of providing iPlayer to as many platforms as possible? For the avoidance of doubt, I do not need specific names: one of “solely BBC policy”, “BBC policy, but requested specifically by third-party content owners” or and only if neither of the preceding options, “BBC policy, in part as a result of consultations with third-party content owners” is perfectly sufficient, and indeed preferred.
In response:
We confirm that the BBC does not currently provide streams to Android devices as standard MP4 containers by HTTP streams due to content protection considerations. The BBC hopes to be able to launch an Android application for the BBC iPlayer later this year.
The BBC is committed to offering the BBC iPlayer on as many platforms as possible, but it is also important to understand that the BBC is not free to distribute content however it chooses since there are third parties who hold rights in BBC content. The BBC has to strike a balance between providing free access as part of the service funded by the licence fee, and protecting the secondary value of content commercially for those third parties who own those rights, including those used in the BBC’s own in-house programmes.
DRM plays a key role in protecting the secondary value in programme content. We refer you to section 3.1 (The BBC’s use of digital rights management) of the BBC Trust’s paper entitled “BBC on-demand proposals: Public Value Test final conclusions” which approved the full launch of the BBC iPlayer (see link below). This recognises the risk that the provision of BBC content ondemand might reduce the commercial opportunities for other broadcasters as well as other providers of media content such as the recording industry, independent television producers and commercial on demand services, and endorses the BBC’s approach to limiting this impact through restricting the amount of time for which the BBC makes content available, as below:
“The BBC is able to provide content on-demand only with the agreement of rights holders and this has been secured on the understanding that TV programmes will be provided for download on a public service basis only for a limited period. At the current time, the only way to meet this condition in the provision of content on-demand is through the application of DRM. Any approach that does not carefully address the interests and concerns of such rights holders could therefore lead to an uncertain position in the future, in respect of negotiations and further agreements with rights holders, which would ultimately not be in the best interest of licence payers.”
Further information can be found in the paper at this link:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbctrust/assets/files/pdf/consult/decisions/on_demand/decision.pdf
We hope you find this information useful.
Appeal Rights
If you are not satisfied with this response you have the right to an internal review by a BBC senior manager or legal adviser. Please contact us at the address above, explaining what you would like us to review and including your reference number. If you are not satisfied with the internal review, you can appeal to the Information Commissioner. The contact details are: Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF, telephone 01625 545 700 or see http://www.ico.gov.uk/
Yours sincerely
L. Stiller
Legal and Business Affairs Manager
Future Media & Technology
