BBC Radio's Streaming Changes Leave Long-Time Listeners In the Lurch (bbc.co.uk)
- Reference: 0176646631
- News link: https://news.slashdot.org/story/25/03/07/2250209/bbc-radios-streaming-changes-leave-long-time-listeners-in-the-lurch
- Source link: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/help/questions/listening-outside-the-uk/outside-uk-changes
> Despite streaming online since the RealAudio days of the late 1990s, the BBC has announced that most of its radio stations will [2]become unavailable to international users later this year . Starting in Spring 2025, only talk news stations BBC World Service and BBC Radio 4 will remain accessible outside the UK. This change is due to rights issues and the launch of a new BBC audio website and app that will replace BBC Sounds for international users. The BBC Sounds app will be available exclusively to UK audiences, although UK users traveling abroad for short periods will still be able to use it. This move has disappointed many long-time international listeners who will lose access to their favorite BBC radio stations. It follows a similar move to further commercialize its services where in 2024 the BBC and Amazon Music struck a global deal to make BBC podcasts available on Amazon Music outside the UK, but only for subscribers to Amazon's Prime and Amazon Music Unlimited services.
[1] https://slashdot.org/~grandrollerz
[2] https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/help/questions/listening-outside-the-uk/outside-uk-changes
MP3 and standard streaming for world service ? (Score:1)
if they stick with mp3 and mu3 for shows they actually own i.e. world service and radio 4 then I dont see the problem
listening to broadcasts is not a world wide right...
the world service was designed for broadcast to the world and bbc radio 4 is a bonus
get over it
Thanks for nothing Tories (Score:2)
They aren't in power now, but they set the wheel in motion and have been railing against the BBC for ages
BBCxit (Score:1)
Just that
Probably the right decision; the licence fee HURTS (Score:2)
Allowing the rest of the world to benefit from ALL the BBC's radio channels puts it in competition for music services with many commercial providers, who are likely to do those things just as well without costing the licence fee payer any money. By contrast Radio 4 and World Service offer unique valuable to the rest of the world at probably little extra cost compared with doing it just for domestic listeners.
The BBC is at present funded by a set fee for all households which have a TV. In addition if you acc
Great (Score:2)
I'll keep not listening to the BBC then.
How will they enforce this? (Score:3)
> The BBC Sounds app will be available exclusively to UK audiences
A VPN should take care of the location problem; and if the app is available on Android then it will probably end on a zillion APK-hosting sites and will be easy to sideload. It seems unlikely that an "app" will be needed for desktop / laptop users. So except for iPhone users, I'm guessing this will be more of an inconvenience than a roadblock.
I suppose a lot of Android users don't know about sideloading, so for a while ignorance will be in the Beeb's favour. But as more and more of this lockdown crap occurs, more and more users will be looking for ways around it, and either will become more tech savvy or will make friends with those who are.
This is just another flavour of DRM, and as such it will be bypassed.