The BBC’s iPlayer online video streaming service, which allows viewers to watch live TV shows plus selected older broadcasts, is at the centre of a dispute between the BBC, and British broadband providers, who are complaining that the popularity of the service is placing a strain on their networks.
As a result they are demanding the BBC pay some of the costs associated with transmitting the video shows online. An outcome in favour of the ISPs though could set a precedent in regards to who ultimately pays for the supply of online content.
“What we are asking for is not unreasonable,” said Jody Haskayne, a spokeswoman for Tiscali UK, a broadband operator with 1.9 million customers. Noting that the BBC pays to have its programs delivered over the air and on cable, she said, “there is a precedent for payment.” The BBC has balked at paying broadband operators. But the debate over the iPlayer reflects a broader change in the relationship between Internet operators and content providers, a bond that has nurtured the growth of the Internet over the past 20 years.
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