CBC to release TV broadcast as high-quality, no-DRM BitTorrent download
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation is about to follow Norway's NRK and become the first major North American broadcaster to release one of its shows as a DRM-free torrent:
Sources indicate that the CBC is set to become the first major North American broadcaster to freely release one of its programs without DRM using BitTorrent. This Sunday, CBC will air Canada Next Great Prime Minister. The following day, it plans to freely release a high-resolution version via peer-to-peer networks without any DRM restrictions. This development is important not only because it shows that Canada's public broadcaster is increasingly willing to experiment with alternative forms of distribution, but also because it may help crystallize the net neutrality issue in Canada.Link (Thanks, Ryan!)The CBC's mandate, as provided in the Broadcasting Act, requires it to make its programming "available throughout Canada by the most appropriate and efficient means." Using BitTorrent allows the CBC to meet its statutory mandate, yet with ISPs such as Rogers engaging in non-transparent traffic shaping, millions of Canadians may be unable to fully access programming funded by tax dollars. If the CBC experiment is successful, look for more broadcasters to do the same and for the CRTC to face mounting pressure to address net neutrality concerns.
See also:
Norwegian broadcaster puts popular show online as no-DRM torrent
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I may be from The States, but Foyle's War has become my guilty pleasure since a Canadian cousin clued me in. I'm hoping this new policy will, eventually, be extended.
Excellent. Now, things they could do next time to make it better.
1. Pick a better show. I have no interest in this one. I know they don't want to cut into DVD sales of regular shows, but how about This Hour Has 22 Minutes, The Rick Mercer Report, or something else that won't be coming to DVD?
2. Release it the moment it finishes airing in the first time zone it airs in. Otherwise, someone's going to beat you to it. The guy who captured the digital satellite stream will have it encoded and posted within hours of it airing (if anyone actually wants to watch it). You have the advantage CBC. You can have the file encoded and ready to go before it airs.
3. Try not to screw up the encoding. You don't want the guy from suggestion 2 to release a PROPER that looks better at a smaller file size and the proper frame rate when you had the original source.
This is pretty cute coming a week after the cancellation of jPod, the series based on the Douglas Coupland novel, which wasn't given much of a chance over its several-week run (with a major move from Tuesday to Friday), but had an impressive amount of Torrent interest.
It's like the CBC thought, "wha-? People liked watching it later after getting it through some sort of file-sharing thingy? Hmmm...let's be pro-active about this. Let's take one of our least-interesting upcoming shows, which no one outside Canada would ever bother with, and put it on this file-sharing thingy! No one downloads it, oh well, we tried..."
Weee, this will be fun.
Look like I'll still be going to eztv to get my Jpod fix. Can't see UK terrestrial channels picking this up,they don't even show The Wire fer christsake!
@ #4
Why should the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) care if anyone outside of Canada is interested? It's not our fault that with 500 stations you can't find anything to watch. Fox must have SOMETHING on for you... of wait, they already canceled to good stuff :)
We've made the official announcement this morning:
http://www.cbc.ca/nextprimeminister/blog/2008/03/canadas_next_great_prime_minis.html
To answer some questions, we'll be releasing 2 torrents, one iPod quality and another high-rez avi. The original show isn't HD, so the torrent isn't either.
We're glad to hear people want other shows this way! Please give us your suggestions. We can't make all shows magically be available this way, but hopefully the interest will resonate with other departments (and maybe other broadcasters?) and they'll see that you guys want this.
@ Guin
Suggestions for other shows? Everything. I'm serious. Everything from the documentaries to 22 Minutes to the evening news. I'm never home for the news broadcast. I'd love to be able to grab it overnight and watch it on my morning bus ride.
If the CBC produces it or has the Canadian distribution rights, get it out there. The reality is that most of the good stuff gets torrented anyways. So take control of the distribution. Get better mind share and find a way to make a few $s off of it.
this is the best news i've heard all day :)
i lived and went to school in ottawa for two years and became addicted to some CBC shows. i'm happy i'll be able to watch cnpm, a girl i know is in the race
@Guin: I really, really, really want to see legal torrents of Little Mosque. That would make me such a happy CBC fan :)
Just so everyone knows, I don't have the power to make every show available, but I do have the ability to take your comments back to the people to do to prove to them that there's interest. So, keep 'em coming. Your quotes mean more support :)
If PBS did this what program would you want to see?
Does CBC show the races at Woodbine? That would make me very happy.
:)
/Broken down horseplayer
Hi Guin!
First off I'd like to say THANK YOU for taking the time to comment on this thread and read responses. It's really cool to know that someone from inside the CBC is paying attention!
Secondly, I'd LOVE to see The World At 6:00 torrented. I listen to CBC Radio podcasts and live broadcasts via the web, but I don't own a TV and don't particularly want to. Hearing someone pitch a segment on an interesting news item on the radio that I'll have to follow up on TV is frustrating. It's 10x as frustrating when it's part of a news series that's playing out on morning radio, afternoon radio, and on TV (the day-long or week-long special in-depth coverage of a news issue, such as health care, for instance).
Alternately, rebroadcasting the 6:00 news as an audio-only podcast would be acceptable - the TV news usually doesn't actually require much in the way of an eye on the TV to follow.
@ Guin
jPOD. It has a huge following on the net already (not enough at the TV set unfortunately, I guess).
They gave it barely 3 months to build an audience, meanwhile it's on the tip of going viral online.
It will be Canada's Arrested Development for sure.
1) All CBC productions should not be copyrighted and people should be encouraged to share the works in any way possible. (I don't know if they actually are copyrighted or not, but I do know that my taxes pay CBC)
2) Cut out the commercials. The pirate versions will not have commercials, so unless you want the pirate version to be better, cut them out.
1) All CBC productions should not be copyrighted and people should be encouraged to share the works in any way possible. (I don't know if they actually are copyrighted or not, but I do know that my taxes pay CBC)
2) Cut out the commercials. The pirate versions will not have commercials, so unless you want the pirate version to be better, cut them out.
- CBC News at Six
- Marketplace
- Little Mosque on the Prairie
- the fifth estate
- The National
- The Hour
- This Hour Has 22 Minutes
- The Rick Mercer Report
- Mansbridge One on One
- Hockey Night in Canada
And possibly some of the kids shows.
If there need to be commercials, keep it to one commercial per break and make sure that none of them repeat during the course of the program.
The torrents are up:
http://www.cbc.ca/nextprimeminister/blog/2008/03/download_canadas_next_great_pr.html
Thanks to everybody for their comments & suggestions so far. We hope we'll get to do this more, so your input is valuable so we can show the community wants it.