BBC iPlayer for Xbox 360 delayed over cost row

Posted by Adam Bunker on Sun 29 Nov 2009

To charge, or not to charge, that is the question

It’s long been the killer feature that 360 owners have pined for. Say what you want about Blu-Ray support, offering the Beeb’s top drawer video on demand service, the iPlayer, on a console is now almost a necessary requirement.

And Microsoft knows it. It seems that the people in charge of Xbox Live have been in talks with the BBC about bringing the iPlayer to Xbox for some time now, but the deal has hit a very large and very fundamental snag, delaying the deal indefinitely.

The crux of the problem is that Microsoft likes to charge users for services on Xbox, whereas the BBC cannot charge for the iPlayer as the cost of the service is already covered in the licence fee.

A BBC spokesperson said on the matter: A source close to the BBC said of the matter: “Microsoft only wants to offer its users access to platforms it can charge for as this is the model it is pursuing. It wants to ensure that only those paying for Xbox Live Gold accounts can access its additional content services and even then there is usually a charge on top to get access to those. For example, to access the Sky Player on Xbox, you have to pay for a Gold subscription as well as a Sky subscription.“

They went on to say that “This does not fit with the BBC’s model and Microsoft will not budge at the moment. It is really frustrating for those involved on the BBC side who want to make sure iPlayer is rolled out on as many popular entertainment platforms as possible.”

It’s a big blow to Xbox owners, as - for the time being - there doesn’t seem to be any way round the problem. In the mean time, rumours abound that Microsoft is also talking to VoD providers such as Channel 4, who we’re sure would be over the moon at the opportunity to charge for content.

Link: Via The Telegraph