The Convergence Of TV And The Internet • “Personal Computers (PCs), through the process of technological convergence, are rapidly becoming the Sovereign Provider for most forms of media entertainment”. • The Internet is rapidly becoming a key way in which audience consume television text. • Whilst it is still nowhere near being the sovereign provider for TV the convergence of all media forms with the Internet mean that VoD is clearly the future of television. • ThTechnol ogi ilCcal Convergence • “…the coming together of in formati on and commun ica tion technologies, especially the merging of telecommunications and traditional media technologies, to create new ways of producing, distributing and usinggg, knowledge, information and entertainment.” • P.J. Fourie • Convergence and VoD • Some TV channels now offer exclusive web content,,y which is only available via VoD services such as BBC’s iPlayer. • EastEnders E20 is a typical BBC example. • http://www.bbc.co.uk/easte nders/e20/ • EastEnders E20 Case Study • EastEnders: E20 is a 12-part Internet Soap Opera, which originally aired between 8 January and 25 January 2010. • A spin-off of the flagship BBC soap EastEnders • EastEnders: E20 aired as part of the main show' s 25th anniversary celebrations. • It was devised in a bid to develop and nurture new talent, including writers, actors, composers and remixers, andtd targe t a younger audience, as well as to attempt to drive more people onto the Internet. • The sh ow' s wri ters, all newcomers age d between 17 an d 22, were selected through a writing competition, and created the series at a BBC summer school. • The theme tune was also selected through a competition, promoted on BBC Radio 1 ,1Xtra and Asian Network. • It primarily operates as a standalone series but also cross - references storylines of the main soap, and features cameo appearances from several of the regular characters from EtEdEastEnders. • The twelve episodes between three and 16 minutes each in length and are available via EastEnders' official website with omnibus editions available on BBC iPlayer and BBC Red Button. • Between E20's launch on 8 January 2010 and 25 January 2010, its episodes and supporting content have received 1. 7 million views across the EastEnders website and BBC iPlayer. • EtEdEastEnders E20 and Web 2 .0 • EastEnders E20 Web Links • http://www. bbc. co. uk/eastenders/e20/ • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UJBt6s t9w Y • http: //www.faceboo k.co m /pages/BB C- EastEnders-E20/195063842004 • http: //en.w ikipedia. org/wiki/EastEnders _ E2 0 • ItittilAdThlilCInstitutional And Technological Convergence • BBC iPlayer is available on the following platforms: • BBC and YouTube • In 2007 the BBC struck a deal with YouTube to show BBC content on the s ite. • The BBC gets a share of the advertising revenue generated by traffic to the new YouTube channels. • There are three basic BBC YouTube Channels: 1. BBC 2. BBC World Wide 3. BBC News • There are also specific YouTube channels for specific BBC TV shows. • BBC and YouTube: BBC • One of the BBC's two entertainment channels is a "public service" proposition, feat uri ng no ad ver tis ing. • It shows clips like trailers and short features that add value - for exampp,le, video diaries of David Tennant showing viewers around the set of Dr Who or BBC correspondent Clive Myrie explaining how difficult it is to report from the streets of Baghdad. • The channel ' s main purpose is to popularise current programming and drive traffic back to the BBC's own website, and point the audience to the BBC's pages, where they can watch or download programmes in fllfull, e.g. iPlayer. • http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6411017.stm • BBC and YouTube: BBC • http://www.youtube.com/user/BBC • BBC and YouTube: BBC Worldwide • The second entertainment channel features self-contained clips - abtthtbout three to si x mi itnutes l ong - miiining popu lar programmes in the BBC's archive. • Excerpts from Top Gear, The Miggyhty Boosh and nature ppgrogrammes presented by David Attenborough are top candidates for this channel. • This YouTube page will carry advertising such as banner adverts, and possibly pre-roll adverts (shown as part of the video clip) as well. • Controversially, the BBC Worldwide page - adverts and all - can be seen in the UK. • In the United States, several television programmes experienced a discernible audience increase after they made clips available on YouTube. • BBC and YouTube: BBC Worldwide • http://www.youtube.com/user/BBCWorldwide • BBC and YouTube: BBC News • It is advertising funded like a similar deal with Yahoo USA. • BBC News is also offered to non‐UK subscribers of Real Networks. • Because of the advertising, these clips can be seen outside the UK only. Any UK users clicking on a link to one of the news clips on YouTube will get a message that they have no access to this clip. • This material is available on the BBC News Website for UK users. • Examples Of Other BBC YouTube Channels • BBC an d Smar t Phones. • The launch of BBC News and BBC Sport smartphone applications is to be delayed, after the BBC Trust heeded industry calls for it to review the corporation's apps proposals. • Today the BBC Trust has informed the corporation' s management that it plans to assess the plans for a series of apps for smartphones including the iPhone and BlackBerry. • The trust said it had also asked for the launch of the first apps to be delayed. The BBC had been planning to launch its BBC News app next month and a BBC Sport app in May. There are also plans for an iPlayer app. • When it unveiled the app proposals in February, BBC management argued that the new mobile content offerings were an extension of existing services and are "plainly not a new content service and therefore doesn't need to be regulated as such". • However, earlier this month the Newspapers Publishers Association, which represents UK national newspaper groups, appealed to the BBC Trust arguing that the corporation's apps plans would undermine commercial organisations' ability to establish economic models on smartphones. • "There remains some uncertainty about the potential significance of whether it [the BBC's plans] constitutes a change o f servi ce, " sa id a spo keswoman for the BBC Trust t od ay. • The BBC Trust added it had moved to look into the plans "following representations from the industry". The trust will now look at four areas: the financial implications, the impact on "users and others"; how long the activity will last; and the extent to which the change would "involve the BBC in a new area of untested activity". • However, the BBC Trust is not, at this stage, looking to launch a full public value test into the proposed smartphone services. • "We are focused on making BBC Online's core web propositions more user-friendly, convenient and accessible, and using existing content to create truly distinctive products around our core public service areas," said a spokeswoman for the BBC. "We look forward to helping the trust with any further information they require about our plans.“ • MkMark Sweney (2010) • SWENEY, M (2010). BBC Told To Delay iPhone Apps, guardian.co.uk [Online], 29/03/10, Available at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/mar/29/bbc-digital-media, Guardian News And Media Limited.