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The URL bbc.co.uk is the brand name in the United Kingdom for the online services of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). It was introduced on May 6 2004. Under its previous names, the BBC's online service first went live in 1994. As of 2004, the current controller is Tony Ageh.

Formerly BBCi (still the brand for interactive TV services) and before that BBC Online, the Web-based service of the BBC is one of the world's largest and most visited web sites (twenty-first most visited according to Alexa on 16th March 2006 *). It currently contains over two million pages.

History

The service's original home was www.bbcnc.org.uk (the "nc" standing for "networking club") launched on April 13, 1994. Within 12 months, the BBC offered "auntie" on-line discussion groups; web pages for select web-related programs and BBC departments; free web pages for associate members; and an internet connection service. An example of "nc" member pages that were launched with Networking Club technical support may be found at chotank.com, celebrating its tenth anniversary year since distribution by the BBC began on the WorldServer, near Cambridge. www.bbc.co.uk was launched in 1996 though the old address also remained active for some time afterwards. For a time, www.bbc.co.uk was used for the organisation's corporate and educational site, while entertainment-based content appeared on www.beeb.com. The two sites were merged c.1999 to become BBC Online at www.bbc.co.uk. In 1999 bought www.bbc.com for $375,000, previously owned by Boston Business Computing, but the price of this purchase was not revealed until 6 years later. As of 2005, www.bbcnc.org.uk no longer exists. The beeb.com address now redirects to the BBC Shop website run by BBC Worldwide, at www.bbcshop.com.

Content

The websites include news from the BBC News website, an extensive sports section, music, science, technology and entertainment pages, among other things. As might be expected, the website has a decidedly British orientation, although the home page, news section and sports section each give the reader a choice between UK and "International" versions.

In February 2001, BBC Online incorporated Douglas Adams' previously independent h2g2 project into its group of web sites, and is now replacing all its existing message boards with the DNA software derived from that project. The site's Collective magazine also uses the DNA software. Unusually for a high traffic website, bbc.co.uk has extensive technical information available about its operation. The BBC also makes some of the content on bbc.co.uk and the BBC News Website available in XML format on its developer network backstage.bbc.co.uk. Also, through participation in the Creative Archive Licence group, bbc.co.uk allows legal downloads of selected material via the internet.

Streaming media

The BBC Radio Player allows users to listen to most broadcasts from the BBC's various radio networks live, and for 7 days after they are broadcast, via streaming media; some video content is also streamed, particularly high-profile news and sport events. These streams are generally broadcast in the RealAudio and RealVideo formats controlled by RealNetworks and the BBC has drawn criticism with some for using these closed formats, which can only be played using RealPlayer. In response to such criticisms, the BBC negotiated a unique deal with RealNetworks to offer a branded "BBC Radio Player", a cut-down version of RealPlayer.

More recently, the BBC has been experimenting with MP3 downloads and podcasting facilities for an increasing number of radio shows, with a high level of success; a less publicised trial of Ogg Vorbis streams for certain programmes was less successful, and has now been discontinued. A new system called "iMP" is currently being developed and trialled, which uses peer-to-peer and DRM technology to allow users to download both radio and TV content, to be played within the software, which will automatically "expire" after 7 days.

Funding

The BBC's site is entirely free from advertising. This is due to the BBC's funding, derived primarily from compulsory television licence fees from UK viewers. This has meant bbc.co.uk has sometimes caused some controversy, as web users outside the UK can use the services (including the entire BBC radio services) without having to pay for them. It has been suggested in the past that the BBC block users outside the UK, or that the BBC create a version of their site supported by adverts for such users. So far, such moves have been resisted; however, where rights to sporting events (such as certain football matches) do not include international online coverage, users from outside the UK are blocked from listening to commentaries. It is worth noting in defence of its open policy that the BBC's site is primarily hosted from two locations*, New York and London. The London site is funded from the licence fee and the New York server is funded through a series of grants (similar to the BBC World Service) and not directly by the licence fee. However those grants do ultimately come from the British public.

Graf Report

In early 2004, the site was made the focus of a government review, launched by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, led by Philip Graf. Sections of the UK internet industry had argued that the BBC site offered things that were available in the commercial sector, creating unnecessary competition.

The review was published in July 2004 and it was recommended that the BBC "prioritise news, current affairs, education and information which is of value to the citizen." In response the BBC also shut down a small number of sections of the site, including the popular Soaps section.

In November 2004, the Governors of the BBC announced a newer, much more tightly drawn remit for bbc.co.uk as part of their response to the review. They also announced, as Graf had recommended, a new approach towards external providers which will see bbc.co.uk aiming to spend at least 25% of its eligible budget on content and services through independent commissions by the end of 2006/07.

Cult TV

From 1999 to 2005, the BBC ran a popular subsite called Cult TV. This subsite had news, star interviews, trivia, and other content popular with fans of the cult TV shows they covered. Examples of covered TV shows include Star Wars, Star Trek, Doctor Who, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Stargate, and Babylon 5.

On 15 July 2005, the BBC announced that the site was closing as of the end of the month, although the Doctor Who section would be unaffected as the series was an ongoing BBC concern. The announcement explained that this was "part of the restructuring of the BBC's online activities". It was promised that some of the content was moved to new places on bbc.co.uk, although as of September 2005 it is currently still all online at the no-longer-updated Cult site.

Teens

The BBC runs a teens subsite divided into a girl's section and a boy's section. The sections focus on entertainment and practical information for teenagers. On February 25th 2005 the BBC shutdown the teens forums after announcing it a few days before.

References

See also

External links

1994 establishments | Advertising-free websites | BBC New Media | Broadcasting websites | Internet and the United Kingdom

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Bbc.co.uk".

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