So what happened to BBC Store?

[The Black Nun]

Supposedly this was going to be up and going by now and when they recently did away with the Global Iplayer app I figured they might be getting ready to launch the store.

Or am I being hopelessly optimistic?

[Mike S]

Didn't they say it was launching in the autumn?

Apparently trials have been running for a while, but I haven't heard any feedback about what's in the 'collections' and what isn't.

[The Black Nun]

I wonder if they'll use the same model as the UK Iplayer app ie: downloads can only be viewed in the player.

[Ross]

I just hope they don't have BBC logos stamped in the corner of the screen.

[John Williams]

http://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/news/bbc- ... 31.article

"BBC Worldwide chief executive Tim Davie has confirmed that download-to-own service BBC Store is to enter a major beta trial in June ahead of a full autumn launch.

The BBC’s commercial arm has been trialling the service, which will allow consumers to buy programmes direct from the BBC in a digital format for the first time, with 1,000 test users since late February.

Speaking after the FT Digital Media conference earlier this week, Davie said the trial would be opened up this summer to a much larger group of participants.

“We’ve been successfully testing BBC Store with 1,000 trialists and we’re looking forward to ramping up the numbers in the closed beta period in June. That will put us on track for a full launch for autumn.” he said. “There’s a lot of excitement about us offering previously unavailable gems from the BBC archive.”

The second stage of the trial is expected to include thousands of participants who will help to ‘stress-test’ the product.

The initial response to BBC Store from trialists is understood to have been largely positive and has helped allay concerns that consumers may not have understood why they were being charged to access BBC programmes, despite the existence of its DVD sales business.

The corporation plans to build a catalogue of around 10,000 hours of content, including a raft of shows that have not previously been made available to download by third party online outlets, such as iTunes, because they were not considered to be commercial viable.

Indies will receive 30% of the revenue generated by Store, with BBCW taking a 70% cut. Programmes will initially be available to view via a dedicated website ahead of integration with iPlayer."

[The Black Nun]

10 000 hours doesn't sound like very much does it. The Global Iplayer had 2000 hours and you very quickly ran out of new things to watch.

I'm starting to think this will just be a glorified version of Itunes, with a handful of "rare" series thrown in as an afterthought.

[John Williams]

These are some editorial guidelines concerning the BBC Store which may be of interest to some.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/editorialguideline ... ions-store

[Nick Cooper 625]

These are some editorial guidelines concerning the BBC Store which may be of interest to some.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/editorialguideline ... ions-store

It looks like a lot of documentary material may fall at various hurdles, which is a shame, as it's exactly the sort of stuff that has remained buried for so long.

[gmg]

Looking forward to this and hopefully they will continue to add to it until virtually the entire archive is on there. In saying that, there isn't a massive amount on my wishlist that I haven't already managed to get my hands on in one way or another. Topping my list at the moment would be: the entire series of Maths-In-A-Box, the unedited version of Natural Lies, the original English version of Badger by Owl-Light and shows w/80's snooker related appearances, such as Tony Knowles on Superstars, Kirk Stevens on Crackerjack, Alex Higgins on QofS, episodes of Pot the Question (even if it does include Stuart Hall). I'm sure there are others but that's all that springs to mind for now. Speaking of snooker, is this Store ever likely to contain sporting events or are those rights held by others? I'd love to some day, for example, sit through Greg Norman's glorious final round at the 1993 Open again complete w/Peter Alliss commentating. I also hope that this Store leads to other things, such as the recovery of lost footage (DW,TOTP & OGWT esp) & to ITV, Channel 4, Sky & RTE amongst others opening up their own archive.

[GarethR]

Anything involving sports rights is probably going to fall before it even reaches the first hurdle. Ditto anything featuring members of the Yewtree Club.

[Nick Cooper 625]

the unedited version of Natural Lies

I have that from the repeat transmission (did record the first, but in the meantime got a stereo VCR). I didn't realise the DVD was a cut-down version.

[gmg]

Anything involving sports rights is probably going to fall before it even reaches the first hurdle. Ditto anything featuring members of the Yewtree Club.

So are we only ever likely to view the majority of archive Sports footage as off-air recordings in future or is there any realistic possibility that a company might be interested in making it commercially available at some point?

[GarethR]

Who can say?

[Stephen James Walker]

the unedited version of Natural Lies

I have that from the repeat transmission (did record the first, but in the meantime got a stereo VCR). I didn't realise the DVD was a cut-down version.

Yes, the DVD of "Natural Lies" is an edited compilation, sadly. I'd love to see it get a full release - although fortunately I too have got an off air copy of the original (though not great quality).