Posted: 18th Feb, 2004 By: MarkJ
The BBC is preparing to make its programme archive available through a P2P file sharing service. Little surprise that the broadcaster is also in talks with BT, possibly to link the archive with a broadband promotion:
The BBC's new media director, Ashley Highfield, said that a P2P network will allow the BBC to handle the volume of traffic it expects when the Internet Media Player (IMP) goes live. The IMP will enable users to download or stream content to their PC, laptop or palmtop computer.
The corporation is exploring ways of using legitimate P2P systems to "get users to share on our behalf", Highfield said.
This is a neat way of tackling the bandwidth issues it would otherwise face, but in effect passes the buck to the broadband providers. With BT in talks with the Beeb*, it seems reasonable to expect some kind of partnership deal.It's unclear whether any such deal, when finalised, would stand the test of the governments forthcoming and highly controversial review. More @
The Register.