Accessing the BBC from outside the UK

[Alex Brooks]

On Fri, Jan 6, 2012 at 4:01 PM, David Woodhouse <dwmw2 at infradead.org> wrote:
> On Fri, 2012-01-06 at 10:41 -0500, Derek J. Balling wrote:
>> On Jan 6, 2012, at 10:38 AM, Chris Marriott wrote:
>> > The fundamental issue is that BBC TV is only accessible to TV
>> licence payers, and if you're not a licence payer, you're not entitled
>> to view it.
>>
>> Pedantically: UK residents are required to pay a TV licence, and
>> aren't entitled to have TVs without paying said licence fee.
>
> More pedantically: you're allowed to have a TV. You're just not allowed
> to receive TV broadcasts with it. If you can show that it is used only
> as a monitor, for example with a games console, and you don't have any
> antenna hooked up to it, then that should be sufficient.
>

The specific rules on TV licencing and catch up TV services are
explained clearly at
http://iplayerhelp.external.bbc.co.uk/help/playing_tv_progs/tvlicence
and
http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/check-if-you-need-one/topics/technology--devices-and-online-top8/
Though do be aware that the government has proposed to change this
soon and the DCMS are imminently due to publish a green paper.

Either way though, this has little effect on anyone outside the UK
from a legal perspective; with that it depends on the terms at
http://www.bbc.co.uk/terms/downloads/BBCiPlayer_Additional_Term_20110110.pdf,
at http://www.bbc.co.uk/terms and as linked from
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer when attempting access from outside the
UK.

Things like:

2.6. Due to agreements which the BBC has with owners of rights in
parts of BBC Content (please see
clause 2.2 of the Terms of Use for personal use), not all BBC Content
available on BBC iPlayer will
be available for you to access, view and/or listen to immediately or
to download.
2.7. BBC Content as made available by the BBC on BBC iPlayer or
through the BBC iPlayer Download
Application must always be displayed using BBC iPlayer or the BBC
iPlayer Download Application
respectively.
2.8. You may not directly or indirectly change, edit, add to or
produce summaries of any BBC Content
or other content available on BBC iPlayer or through the BBC iPlayer
Download Application.
2.9. You do not have the right to use any BBC Content or BBC mark/logo
on your device or elsewhere
except as provided on BBC iPlayer or through the BBC iPlayer Download
Application.

Alex