PSB VOD

Broadcast has an interesting article today, with reports the BBC, ITV and Channel 4 are looking at future options to collaborate more, including combining their VOD players. Meanwhile the BBC is planning for a streaming “Switchover 2” which they expect by the start of the next decade:



What are your thoughts on how a combined player might work? Keeping channel brands separate or combing everything à la Britbox? If the functionality of the iPlayer can be applied to ITV and C4 content, it’d be great to see their content in HD or maybe even UHD.

As long as they move UP the quality of the current laggards, and don't down specify iPlayer (and now All4 - HD on some platforms) content I'll be happy. Mixing advertising and non-advertising content will be fun to observe. I wonder whether this is in response to amongst other matters, Britbox's issues, significant churn reports are circulating there, of which I'm one.

I've always thought the BBC could make a killing licensing the iPlayer software to the other broadcasters.

Yes, they should have done that to BritBox, who’s interface is awful.

Isn't ITV the biggest partner in BritBox? Is their tech the same as ITV Hub's?

90% ITV, 10% BBC Studios.

But it open sourced it instead ... BBC TAL
http://www.bbc.co.uk/opensource/projects/TAL

Isn't that what BritBox was supposed to be, a Hub for all PSB content or is this one going to be Strictly for free catch-up content. If so, I'm All 4 it, just as long as they have a rule that all content is available in HD. Why are the BBC the only ones giving HD content as standard on their catch-up? The picture quality on other PSB catch-up services is a disgrace and the applications themselves frequently crash or cut off parts of the programming to insert ads or have horrible interfaces.

I think a lot of the quality issues are because the BBC “got” /understood “ Digital”
Very early on say early 2000s
Many could say the itv still have not “got” it
Channel four whilst leading the world in Data and deep mining it
Seem to have not had the same finesse in content.
And five is...... nearly a PSB

But like many things in the Internet we expect it to be free..
Hence adverting funded ...
Or funded by selling our personal details ..which does not fit well with PSB

Britbox is the equivalent of buying DVDs or VHS of programmes. It's not really catch-up as such

I’ve always thought All4 has a good selection of archive programmes. Stuff like Time Signs, the precursor to Time Team, which is quite obscure and you wouldn’t expect to be repeated or available commercially.

*groan*

iPlayer is one of the few catch-up services which has given any thought to accessibility - you can toggle subtitles, and (were available) AD or sign language. I'm not sure I've even seen subtitles as an option in the rest.