[BC] (Kinda OT?) BBC's Web radio

[charles hobbs]

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-technopolis10jul10,1,5259165.column

At the BBC radio site, http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio ,
you'll find live broadcasts of the network's hallowed
World Service ? in 43 languages ? that debuted in 1932
and set the standard for international radio.

But the Internet has also brought the rest of BBC
radio ? designed for domestic consumption ? to a far
wider audience. It is some of the most vibrant,
entertaining radio in the world.

The domestic service consists of 10 English-language,
live channel streams with programming on business,
current affairs, drama, comedy, science, religion and
a variety of music genres, including pop, classical,
hip-hop, jazz, country-western and world music.

It's also a site that many people apparently turn to
for breaking news. Shortly after the London public
transit bombings Thursday morning, I tried to access
the BBC's all-news Five Alive channel online, but it
was so overloaded with people seeking its live local
coverage that I couldn't get to it for nearly two
hours. 

[...]
Sending BBC's domestic programs around the world for
free amounts to subsidizing foreign consumption of a
service that British citizens have to pay for, and BBC
management is considering ending it.

The domestic service, including the online streams, is
subsidized out of the annual license fee charged to
every household in Britain that has a television set.
The fee, which also supports a variety of other
noncommercial BBC radio and television operations,
comes to about $230 per household. 

The fact that we outsiders get the service without
having to pay a fee probably would not be an issue if
this was standard broadcast radio, which costs the
same to distribute no matter how many people are
listening.

But the more people listen to online radio, the more
bandwidth the broadcaster has to purchase.

"It's a complex situation," said Simon Nelson,
controller of the BBC's radio and music interactive
services.

"I'm proud that we deliver a service that is valued
all over the world. But I have to make sure we are not
using the public license fee to subsidize free
international services. We need to find the right
balance."

Nelson said no decision has been made on the
possibility of restricting the online domestic service
in some way ? possibly to listeners who have Internet
addresses inside Britain. 

The message is that it's probably not going to
disappear right away. But just in case, go for it now. 


		
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