BBC Round-Up

In a follow-up posting on the BBC's Press Red blog, Friday, the corporation's controller of TV platforms, Rahul Chakkara, attempted to address the concerns expressed by viewers on that blog and on the BBC's Editors' blog about the BBC's decision to switch off two of the three interactive streams it uses to deliver red-button content on the UK's free-to-air digital terrestrial platform, Freeview, in order to make way for HDTV (see the article published on itvt.com, October 21st). The switch-off, which is scheduled to take place October 27th, means that Freeview viewers will no longer be able to access the BBC News Multiscreen interactive TV application, and that for other content, including sports and music, there will be fewer repeats available under the red button, with content played out in smaller blocks of time.

"Firstly I can absolutely understand why some of you disagree with these changes," Chakkara wrote. "It affects the content you love to watch, and I want to reassure you that we are doing everything we can in conjunction with our colleagues in Sport to schedule events to ensure that we try and accommodate all the major sporting events on Freeview; that we continue to provide schedule information online and this is made available to TV listings magazines to help you know when which sport is on and to remind you that BBC Sport video available via the Red Button is also available on BBCOnline/Sport. During major events," Chakkara continued, "we will also look to free up bandwidth available to the BBC across Freeview as we did during the Summer Olympics in 2008."

In addition to attempting to reassure viewers that the BBC is taking measures to mitigate the impact of the switchoff, Chakkara provided further explanation of the reasoning behind it: "Regarding why we chose these two streams to switch off, simply, of the streams available to us, these two were the ones deemed to present programming that could be made available elsewhere across the BBC's channels," he wrote. "HD is becoming the next broadcasting standard as more programs are being made in HD and more people own HD-ready televisions...HD is already available on satellite and cable platforms. Freeview is the only platform without the BBC's HD content. It was felt important that it also offered viewers HD channels both from the BBC and from other broadcasters." He added that while "initially only those in the areas where digital switchover has happened will be able to access Freeview HD...we made the decision not to continue running [the interactive] streams in areas which are yet to have digital switchover because, while technically it would be possible, editorially we can't run two different services in different parts of the county. This does mean," he continued, "that for a time between now and 2012 when switchover is completed there will be some unused spectrum covering parts of the UK on the multiplexes we own. We're sub-leasing that in order to make sure we are getting maximum value for money," he added.

Despite Chakkara's efforts to explain the switchoff decision, the majority of comments on the Press Red blog still appear to be highly critical of the move.

In other BBC news:

• The corporation has issued new guidelines for developers of connected TV's and other devices and platforms that are intended to enable delivery of its BBC iPlayer service. In a posting on a BBC blog, Kerstin Mogul, COO of BBC Future Media & Technology, explains that, in order to "deliver a high-quality user experience" on a new platform or device, the BBC often has to adapt the iPlayer--and to date has "rebuilt" it for over 20 different platforms and devices. As a result, she writes, the BBC has to strike a balance between the "public value" consideration of ensuring that UK License Fee players can "access BBC content in a way that is convenient to them" and the fact that a significant expenditure of resources is involved in adapting the iPlayer for each new platform. The corporation, she explains, has therefore issued a clarification of this balance: "The BBC will consider adjusting its standard iPlayer technology products for specific device families with an installed base of over 100,000," the clarification states, and "will consider bespoke development of iPlayer technology for specific device families with an installed base of over 500,000." The new guidelines and the clarification are available here.
• According to an article in the UK broadcast industry trade publication, Broadcast, BBC staff "are furious" about the BBC Trust's decision last week to reject the corporation's Open iPlayer proposal as "too complex" (see the article published on itvt.com, October 21st), and the BBC has no plans to submit to the Trust a new commercial proposal for sharing the iPlayer with other public service broadcasters. "This was a very big, very tangible partnership proposal, which partners were excited about, and our regulatory framework doesn't appear capable of executing that," a source told Broadcast. According to Broadcast, "any new proposal is likely to center on links from the BBC iPlayer and bear little relation to the Open iPlayer," and the BBC is now "winding down" its Open iPlayer team.
• BBC Vision Multiplatform has commissioned a broadband video spinoff of its longrunning soap opera, "EastEnders." The spinoff series, entitled "EastEnders: E20," was written by 13 London-based writers, aged between 17 and 22, at a special summer school that the BBC says was part of an initiative to develop and nurture new talent. It will follow four new teenage characters who arrive in the show's fictional setting, Albert Square (located in the fictional London borough of Walford), each searching for an escape from their regular lives. The characters' stories, which the BBC says will provide viewers with the opportunity "to see the much loved world of Walford from an entirely different point of view," will be enhanced with various online elements including video blogs and behind-the-scenes footage. According to the BBC, while "EasterEnders: E20's" stories can be followed by viewers unfamiliar with the main show, "there will be crossover treats for regular fans too, both in the online series and the BBC One program." The spinoff series is slated to launch on bbc.co.uk/eastenders in January, just prior to "Eastenders'" 25th anniversary in February.