BBC One To Be Shown Live On The Internet

BBC One is to be shown live on the internet as part of the corporation’s bbc.co.uk online offering.

Although BBC3 and the BBC News Channel are already simulcast online, they have always been digital services. BBC One will be the first of the corporation’s analogue channels to move online.

The plan was announced as part of the BBC’s annual statements of programme policy, which reiterated the need for online viewers to have a TV licence to legally watch streamed programmes.

According to the corporation’s licence fee website: “You need a TV licence to use any television receiving equipment such as a TV set, set-top box, video or DVD recorder, computer or mobile phone to watch or record TV programmes as they are being shown on TV.”

Viewers can currently catch up with BBC programmes on the iPlayer, although they cannot watch them live.

The BBC released figures last month which showed that the iPlayer has received more than 75 million requests to stream or download programmes (see iPlayer Receives More Than 75m Requests To View Since Launch).

At the start of May, the BBC and ITV launched the joint free satellite service Freesat, available for a one-off fee and promising 200 channels by the end of the year (see Freesat Launches Today).

BBC: 020 8743 8000 www.bbc.co.uk