BBC and Azureus link up for file sharing

December 20, 2006

The BBC are reporting that they are to hook up with Azureus, and make programs like Red Dwarf, Little Britain and Fawlty Towers available for download via Azureus’ recently announced Zudeo service.

I have a real problem with this. My taxes, in the form of a £131 per year ($260USD) TV license fee (which is levied against all TV owners in the UK), have been used to make a program that the BBC will then sell on Zudeo, meaning if I want to download it, I’m effectively paying for it twice.

Since the BBC are funded by the UK taxpayer, not by advertising, they need to be very careful about exploring new content delivery channels. If they make any money from this, it should be returned to UK TV license payer, in the form of a reduction in the license fee. 

Technorati Tags: BBC, tax, license fee, Zudeo, Azureus, file sharing, content, delivery

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