Tirytory

Me too. I just tested it!

quiltman

Works fine with tunnel bear from here. Did lie and ticked 'Yes I Have a licence"

BristolUK

I just made this

beckiwoo

No issues with surf easy. Asked me if I had a TV license..I said yes and started watching some cr*p. I think it was the new version of 'porridge' - really wish the beeb would stop reinventing old sitcoms.

Used my ipad and it worked just fine

Lion in Winter

So the problem here is that while there are still several ways to see the iplayer material, every time you use it you are clicking a button that effectively says "I'm breaking the law and I know it". This button used to pop up for live tv, but not for other material.

If the BBC ever decided to take legal action against people living abroad (I assume that is legally possible) then I also assume that vpn services and the like would have to cough up all identifying information that they have.

I am not happy. Just sell me a damn license. I don't want to cheat, and I definitely don't want to break the law. I want to buy the product. Why is that so hard?

Tirytory

Yeah, I feel uneasy about it and would be happy to pay tbh. I would rather pay.

SchnookoLoly

Unfortunately it's a licensing thing. BBC sells its content to the cable providers here, and as part of that agreement, BBC agrees not to sell its content directly to Canadians. And that means that BBC can't offer the licenses, even though we WANT to pay for it.

This is exactly what Netflix ran into with people using unblockers. Really, Netflix doesn't care, they just want customers. However, take a show like Criminal Minds. It's a CBS show in the US. Netflix has an agreement with CBS to show CM. Great. In Canada, however, CTV has the rights to show Criminal Minds in Canada, and they have EXCLUSIVE rights to show CM in Canada. Therefore, Netflix cannot show CM in Canada.

So people start using unblockers to access CM by pretending they're in the US. CTV gets pissed off about it. CBS is also in hot water because CTV is pissed, so CBS says to Netflix to stop showing CM in Canada because it violates the agreement with CTV.

CTV also provides content to Netflix with similar agreements, so CTV starts to threaten Netflix saying that if they can't fix their georestricted data, they'll stop providing content because clearly they can't respect agreements. CBS makes a similar threat - CM is restricted in Canada, Netflix is doing nothing to enforce the restriction, therefore CBS has no choice but to pull Netflix's right to CM completely.

So while Netflix doesn't really care about people from other countries watching their content, they DO care about having content in the first place. If no network gives them content, then they have no product. So in order to continue to get content, they have to actually put measures in place to appease those content providers.

BBC is pretty much in the same boat. They actually did try to make a Worldwide version of iPlayer that showed some content, but so much of the content couldn't be shown because of other agreements that they ended up shutting it down.

(This is also why HBO Go isn't in Canada. Bell I think has the exclusive rights to HBO shows in Canada... so if you want to watch any HBO show - Veep, Game of Thrones, etc - you have go to through Bell. HBO isn't actually allowed to show their own content directly in Canada, it has to go via Bell.)

Where I see this going in the future is that new shows won't sign with these types of exclusive clauses. Which sounds good in theory, but what I suspect what will happen is what we're arleady seeing in Canada: various networks will have their own streaming services, like how we have both Crave and Shomi. Separate services with separate payments. Eventually it will just continue to fragment. If you want full library access you'll have to pay money here there and the other place... and then there's no central place for where something you might want to watch is going to be. It'll be a mess, I think.

Hurlabrick

HMG have just changed the TV licensing legislation to say that you DO need a TV licence even if you only watch BBC programmes after original broadcast the BBC iPlayer. Prior to this legislation, you did NOT need a TV licence if you only watched BBC content through iPlayer, which lead to a small but noticeable drop in TV licences etc.....

So be VERY careful out there in Canada, if you see a British registered TV detector van with a plethora of aerials sticking out the side pull up in front of your house - you are in BIG trouble!

stuabroad

Not if you use a VPN service which doesn't store log traffic.

Lion in Winter

But presumably you have to pay for service, and are therefore identifiable?

Or not?

stuabroad

I pay for the service, but no the data is not traceable which is half the point of the anonymity of the service being provided.

Lion in Winter

I understand (I think) that your traffic is not traceable, but if records are required by subpoena for a legal case, doesn't the company have to cough up their records? They surely have to know where their money comes from.

Or doesn't that happen internationally?

BristolUK

But it's all so outdated now. All these ideas originated when alternatives weren't possible and now they are.

The music business eventually cottoned on to the idea and now you can buy your music without having a disc or tape. Similar thing with books too.

It's about time the broadcasting people got it too.

SchnookoLoly

Oh I agree it's outdated. Unfortunately it will take longer for it to catch up... often when these shows air, the agreements are signed for the duration of the show's run. So for CRiminal Minds, which is entering its 12th season, they'll have an agreement that CTV can keep airing CM until it ends. There will then be some clause as well about showing reruns and whether CTV gets first dibs on reruns or not, and whether those reruns are exclusive. I'd suspect that once CM ends, as long as CTV doesn't have agreements on reruns, THEN CM will be available on Canadian Netflix.

But a lot of this will have to wait until these shows run out their existing contracts.

This is the same reason that some shows *are* on Netflix, but only the early seasons. The later seasons are still under contract elsewhere.

beckiwoo

You haven't got much choice at the moment. People 'break the law' with downloading and rarely anything happens.



It would take the BBC ages to get any legal right to prosecute people abroad.

At least channel 4od is still working - the content is better then BBC iplayer and stays on their indefinitely