Ofcom overturns ATVOD ruling on BBC Worldwide

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January 21, 2013

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1 minute

18 months after the initial ruling, the UK’s broadcast regulator Ofcom has overturned a decision by the Authority for Television On Demand regarding a number of BBC Worldwide’s YouTube channels. In May 2011 ATVOD found that channels for Top Gear and BBC Food could be categorised as on-demand programming, meaning that BBC Worldwide would be…

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Niall Johnson Niall reports on TV and online data, meaning he knows what people are looking at on the web, is aware of how many devices you can watch Countryfile on and writes the TV Overnights each morning. From Dublin, Niall has a keen interest in convergent technologies and the general confusion around the changing living room experience.

18 months after the initial ruling, the UK’s broadcast regulator Ofcom has overturned a decision by the Authority for Television On Demand regarding a number of BBC Worldwide’s YouTube channels.

In May 2011 ATVOD found that channels for Top Gear and BBC Food could be categorised as on-demand programming, meaning that BBC Worldwide would be subject to a fee like all other similar services. The commercial arm of the BBC almost immediately appealed against this decision, with Ofcom finally overturning ATVOD’s decision last week.

Ofcom felt that the content available on the YouTube channels was not comparable to what was being offered on live TV.