IR
Two years after their last update on the subject, the BBC has given a statement to Points of View regarding the lack of the BBC One English regions in HD:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/BbC4M14YmGHh8Vn52gp9d2/bbc-hd-channel-and-local-news
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/BbC4M14YmGHh8Vn52gp9d2/bbc-hd-channel-and-local-news
Quote:
“This is a really tricky issue for the BBC. We obviously want to give our audiences the best possible experience and not having Regional news content on BBC One HD is a problem, given that our 6.30pm bulletins are the most watched news programmes in the UK. We know it doesn’t bother all of our audiences, but many viewers find it inconvenient to switch to BBC One SD and that bothers us.
The problem remains one of money. There are 15 regional versions of BBC One across England and the Channel Islands. Most of those 15 BBC One’s originate from Regional studios that are not yet fully HD and upgrading Regional news output is a priority for investment. To then take 15 BBC One’s to air in both HD and SD on all platforms would cost the equivalent of a third of the annual editorial budget for regional TV bulletins. So we have to balance our plans with the best interests of the license fee payer and try to find creative solutions. And we mustn’t forget BBC Two viewers in the Nations also experience a similar issue.
In a world where two thirds of homes have their main TV connected to the internet, we could look to the internet to provide local content in HD. Alternatively we might find a way for audiences to move more conveniently between HD and SD. We will address this problem one way or the other, but we don’t want to take money away from other BBC services if we can possibly avoid it.
In the meantime, the vast majority of the BBC’s content is available free to air to audiences in HD across all platforms and directly over the internet on BBC iPlayer, which is generally included by default within internet-connectable TVs and set-top boxes and with the added benefits of live restart and 30 days to watch programmes as standard."
The problem remains one of money. There are 15 regional versions of BBC One across England and the Channel Islands. Most of those 15 BBC One’s originate from Regional studios that are not yet fully HD and upgrading Regional news output is a priority for investment. To then take 15 BBC One’s to air in both HD and SD on all platforms would cost the equivalent of a third of the annual editorial budget for regional TV bulletins. So we have to balance our plans with the best interests of the license fee payer and try to find creative solutions. And we mustn’t forget BBC Two viewers in the Nations also experience a similar issue.
In a world where two thirds of homes have their main TV connected to the internet, we could look to the internet to provide local content in HD. Alternatively we might find a way for audiences to move more conveniently between HD and SD. We will address this problem one way or the other, but we don’t want to take money away from other BBC services if we can possibly avoid it.
In the meantime, the vast majority of the BBC’s content is available free to air to audiences in HD across all platforms and directly over the internet on BBC iPlayer, which is generally included by default within internet-connectable TVs and set-top boxes and with the added benefits of live restart and 30 days to watch programmes as standard."
