The BBC has decided not to allow its content to be syndicated in a multitude of different ways, preferring instead to keep the iPlayer interface front and center. And while the usual suspects are complaining about this, it would seem a sensible move.
Smart TV Fragmentation
In case you hadn’t noticed, the smart TV market is becoming increasingly fragmented, with a host of different companies scrambling to become the market leader now that the technology has caught up to the concept.
There are set-top boxes such as Apple TV and Roku, there are integrated platforms such as Boxee and Google TV, and television manufacturers are increasingly throwing their own proprietary software into the mix.
In these murky waters it’s easy to see your product get lost or changed beyond all recognition. And the BBC doesn’t want that to happen.
BBC iPlayer Syndication
The BBC, therefore, is fighting to maintain a handful of standard interfaces for its iPlayer service, with the BBC Trust concluding this is the best option for the corporation in provisional conclusions ahead of a month-long consultation.
In other words, the BBC wants to maintain its hold on the content it is making freely-available online to license fee payers. And to do so it is insisting that standard formats that can easily be adopted by other operators be used. This means that most requests for bespoke versions of the iPlayer to be developed will be rejected.
Rival broadcasters such as BSkyB and Virgin Media aren’t happy with this state of affairs, as they want to be able to air BBC programming on demand without having to wrap it up within the iPlayer interface.
Conclusions
I can completely see where the BBC is coming from on this score. Ensuring one of a handful of standard iPlayer interfaces are used by all purveyors of smart TV platforms ensures a high level of quality and ensures iPlayer users will know what they’re getting regardless of the platform they’re accessing the content on.
