{"id":282741,"date":"2010-02-05T10:17:59","date_gmt":"2010-02-05T15:17:59","guid":{"rendered":"tag:contentnext.com,2010-02-05:article\/419-bbc-iphone-app-developer-is-not-licensed"},"modified":"2010-02-05T10:17:59","modified_gmt":"2010-02-05T15:17:59","slug":"bbc-iphone-app-developer-is-not-licensed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/282741","title":{"rendered":"BBC: IPhone App Developer Is ‘Not Licensed’"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"re.watch
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

A company that has built—and is already publicizing<\/a>—a BBC iPlayer app for the iPhone may get stalled at the gates by the BBC, we have learned.<\/p>\n

If it goes live, the Rewat.ch app, from Manchester-based developers Camiloo<\/a>, would be the first iPlayer app for iPhones on the market, according to the BBC. But the BBC may have none of it: “Camiloo is not a licensed distributor of BBC content online or on mobile. The BBC routinely looks for unauthorised usage of our brand across all platforms and when we encounter it we work to resolve the issue,” a spokesperson told paidContent:UK. She would not comment further on whether this means it would bar the app. Rewat.ch would sell for \u00a31.19 but would otherwise be free to use.\n<\/p>\n

Rewat.ch, which is in Apple’s approval stage as Camiloo waits for the BBC to give the go-ahead, points to wider questions on BBC content syndication. Mark Newby, Camiloo’s MD, tells us that it is using publicly accessed RSS feeds of iPlayer content, taken from the BBC’s mobile site, and therefore is not doing anything illicit in its app. But last year<\/a>, IP Vision got banned from putting its own implementation of the iPlayer into its set-top boxes for its Fetch TV IPTV service.The BBC “provided reasonable arguments as to why implementing a self-build iPlayer for IP Vision could have jeopardised both value for money and the BBC\u2019s brand,” the BBC Trust concluded at the time.<\/p>\n

Yet there are already apps<\/a> in the iTunes store that are sourcing BBC content, but are not official BBC apps. This would argue for Re.wind making its way to the store, too. <\/p>\n

The BBC has developed a number of mobile-friendly websites for its services, and it provides an iPlayer widget for selected Nokia<\/a> devices. And there are niche sites on the Apple (NSDQ: AAPL<\/a>) store for certain products such as its Good Food magazine and site, and Lonely Planet travel guides. These are produced by the BBC’s commercial division, BBC Worldwide. But it has not launched any Apple apps for the bulk of its content. <\/p>\n

It’s not quite clear why BBC hasn’t done more on iPhones: some believe<\/a> that the BBC’s delay on apps is down to Apple’s own T&C’s; others believe it is because of the BBC’s own license terms. The BBC will not comment on the speculation but tells us this: “We are always keen to make our content available to as many people on as many platforms as possible. We are in continuous discussions with a number of manufacturers with the hope of making our services available via their platforms in the future.” <\/p>\n

Newby says that Rewat.ch offers a better experience over the iPlayer site that users can access via iPhones. The app works on a combination of 3G and WiFi, and caches content on the phone for when a person is offline. The BBC’s web version of the iPlayer requires 3G bandwidth to run its service, but this can prove to be a bandwidth hog—3UK says iPlayer can use up to 1600kbps (compared to YouTube at 300kbps) on the network. Newby says that, in fact, some mobile operators restrict usage of iPlayer as a result. <\/p>\n

The plan would be to enhance Rewat.ch with content from the online edition of iPlayer eventually. The PC site contains more video and audio than the mobile edition, including more local affiliate coverage as well as subtitles for the hearing impaired. Newby says that this would allow Re.wind to be used on the larger iPad format as well.\n<\/p>\n

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