BritBox has launched

I agree with this. I’ve been paying the licence fee for a huge number of years. So I paid for this content to be made. I should be getting a cut for licensing old episodes which are being put out on Britbox

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It’s a really terrible name.

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Have you been getting a cut from episodes sold via iTunes or been provided free downloads? Or a discount on your Netflix subscription when you watch lots of old BBC programmes?

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I thought the need of a TV licence was to watch broadcast television, not for the creation of content. Yes content creation is what the licence fee is used for but not the legal reason for a member of the public to need a licence. Why do people also think they have a claim to BBC content in perpetuity when you need a TV licence to watch Sky or ITV too. Why no claim over that content too?

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Probably because Sky and ITV don’t get any of the money from the TV license fee. The BBC get it all and they use it to generate their content which is then sold back to us

It’s not sold back to you

The archives don’t go quite as deep as I’d like, but presumably that can change

It is unless Britbox is free to everyone that pays or has paid for a tv license.

So you pay to see a movie in the cinema that means you can walk into Tesco and pick up a Blu Ray and run out without paying right?

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Or you can walk into a BBC store room and walk out with a camera because you paid for it right?

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Not sure what you’re talking about. I said the content is sold back to the people that funded the creation of it and I’ve explained how that occurs which you denied

It’s catchy

When you pay for a cinema tickets you paid to help the creation of the content so should you get a Blu Ray for free?

You license fee pays for the camera kit to create that content so are you entitled to a camera from the BBC because you paid for it already?

It’s your analogy so I’m not sure why you are so confused with it, granted it’s stupid but still :man_shrugging::joy:

Needs apps on Amazon and android TV however with up to 5 streams at once if you have enough friends it’s only £1.25 a month.

Issue is though it’s another subscription - Netflix, ATV+, Disney+, Prime, Brtibox - surely they all can’t thrive?

But let’s be honest, Netflix are paying the BBC for this content. The BBC and other networks are just being greedy and want even more money and control of their own platform. They quite easily could have had the content on both platforms and left it up to the user to choose but they’re removing it.

Thats a bit of false equivelancy, unlike movie producers the bbc knows how much money they are getting or have got because we are required to pay under law. Commercial companies making films have a risk the bbc doesnt, if they make a crappy film they wont make the costs back and there will be no major demand for bluray.
If the bbc makes a crappy series they have already got your money to make it, they just wont make a season 2 and lose out on all the additional non uk markets if they dont buy into it but we have already prepaid for it.
As license fee payers we are more akin to backers/investors rather than end paying customers as we are prepaying for the content with no control over whats made. The BBC themselves sell the license fee in this way to people saying “your unique funding ensures we can make x y z shows”. The BBC archives are digital and they have a delivery platform already covered by our fee’s to let us use. If a really old show isnt popular and no one watches it on iplayer the cost to the bbc is minimal to make it availible.
Instead we have to pay 2 subscriptions now to access content we prepaid for without having any influence on the choices.
We pay for netflix and if netflix then decided they wouldnt put their show on their platform instead you had to go to a 3rd party and pay another subscription to watch the netflix produced show I would likewise be annoyed. I would also be annoyed if Netflix said you had to pay to watch their content after x months on a 3rd party platform because they want more money.

I also find the arguement about how we had to buy box sets on phyiscal media or itunes a bit disingenuous as well. 3rd party stores and physical media have a wholey different cost base than making it availible on your own playform so those 3rd parties need to get a cut as well as they are doing the heavy lifting. Also if I didnt pay the license fee those costs would be the cost to me to watch bbc content as I had no paid the monthly for the subscription/fee so I could buy that media with the savings from paying the fee.
Netflix has release bluray’s and made their content on other networks, I dont care as I know as a subscriber I can watch it all wrapped up in that monthly fee but it being on other sources means others can watch it either buy buying it single instance or paying x provider but I still get a benefit already as a subscription fee payer.

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The TV License is a whole other kettle of fish I feel. I think as a whole this is a good way for this media to go. It will be interesting to see things in a few years to see which platforms are flourishing.

I think not having an Android TV app was a poor decision as they have a large share of the Smart TV market and should be easily developed / ported over from the standard Android phone app. Amazon is also running on a flavour of android I believe so should be the same app for both.

Personally I won’t be using it as BBC has barely any content I want to watch. The same goes for ITV and Channel 4. I think the only BBC show I watch is Doctor Who which isn’t as good any more and certainly not worth a subscription to this when it won’t even be the new episode, but will be available a year after release when it is removed from iPlayer. Paying for a TV license for one show too is just rediculous so I guess I’ll just have to go without. :sweat:

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I’ve got a solution we scrap the overpriced ~£12/month TV licence fee :fire:

You then have these subscription options:

£5.99/month for iPlayer

£5.99/month for Britbox

You can either pay for one, both, or none if you don’t want to have access to either.

You basically keep paying the same as you have always done and get Britbox. Or save £6 by not having access to the extensive archive.

Done. :handshake:

I hear you saying but “how would they fund the £150,000 a month streaming costs of Britbox? Thats like £1.8 million”, well they could axe Gary Linkers yearly salary. Solved. I am of course joking. Not joking.

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What would you go for?

How about Britflix :laughing:

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I seriously can’t see it lasting long to be fair, it’s all old series that can be found pretty much everywhere else and looking at the choice available not much of it is appealing