# BBC to put huge archive of shows online for free! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 27, 2003, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bbc-to-put-huge-archive-of-shows-online-for-free/197909 "2003-08-27T04:36:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![neutron\_star](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/51bf81/32.png) [@neutron\_star](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutron_star)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2003, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bbc-to-put-huge-archive-of-shows-online-for-free/197909/1 "2003-08-27T04:36:39Z")
Wow! Check out this [Slate](http://slate.msn.com/id/2087512/) article: > [@](#): > > BBC Director-General Greg Dyke may have settled the matter this weekend. At the end of his speech to an annual TV industry conference in Edinburgh, Scotland, Dyke announced that the Beeb plans to put its enormous TV and radio archives online and to allow anyone to download them—free—for non-commercial use. “Under a simple licensing system, we will allow users to adapt BBC content for their own use,” Dyke said. “We are calling this the BBC Creative Archive.” This is **incredible!** I can’t wait for them to get up and running with this. The article ponders exactly how much of their content they’ll be able to put up: > [@](#): > > Until BBC lawyers go through the exhaustive work of clearing the rights to redistribute the old shows online, we won’t know if the Creative Archive will include John Cleese classics or just old News 24 clips. Let’s hope they can get the licensing issues cleared up, because the BBC sure has done some great stuff over the years. I was particularly impressed by the miniseries _Traffik_, the five-hour long inspiration for the U.S. movie “Traffic.” I ended up having to buy the DVD after seeing the first four installments play on Sundance, then missing the fifth. Then there were those BBC Planets documentaries I downloaded in a not-so-legal fashion a couple of years ago. Interesting stuff. Anyway, just wanted to relay this really great news to you guys in case you missed the story. Those of us who find it difficult to pull ourselves away from our computers now will probably need heavy machinery to budge us once this thing gets online. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Fern\_Forest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71c47a/32.png) [@Fern\_Forest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fern_Forest)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2003, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bbc-to-put-huge-archive-of-shows-online-for-free/197909/2 "2003-08-27T04:41:05Z")
Ooh! I’ve been dying to hear the original “Whose Line” shows. I hope that gets put up. ---
**Author:** ![everton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecb155/32.png) [@everton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/everton)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2003, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bbc-to-put-huge-archive-of-shows-online-for-free/197909/3 "2003-08-27T10:56:07Z")
The BBC lawyers might have their work cut out for them and even when that’s out of the way the scale of the task will be monumental. More about this was discussed in this recent thread: [Opening the BBC archive and copyright law](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=206862) > [@](#): > > Originally posted by _Fern Forest_ > Ooh! I’ve been dying to hear the original “Whose Line” shows. I hope that gets put up. I’m afraid you can forget about that, _Whose Line Is It Anyway?_ is not a BBC show, and nor are numerous others you may have seen on BBC America. ---
**Author:** ![nisosbar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c37758/32.png) [@nisosbar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nisosbar)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2003, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bbc-to-put-huge-archive-of-shows-online-for-free/197909/4 "2003-08-27T11:27:01Z")
Great news! ---
**Author:** ![Kal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9de053/32.png) [@Kal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kal)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2003, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bbc-to-put-huge-archive-of-shows-online-for-free/197909/5 "2003-08-27T11:29:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by everton \* > I’m afraid you can forget about that, _Whose Line Is It Anyway?_ is not a BBC show, and nor are numerous others you may have seen on BBC America. Whose Line Is It Anyway started on BBC radio before moving over to TV. Radio 7 have aired it recently. ---
**Author:** ![everton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecb155/32.png) [@everton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/everton)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2003, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bbc-to-put-huge-archive-of-shows-online-for-free/197909/6 "2003-08-27T11:46:59Z")
My mistake – **Fern Forest** did say “hear” not “see”. ---
**Author:** ![Fern\_Forest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71c47a/32.png) [@Fern\_Forest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fern_Forest)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2003, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bbc-to-put-huge-archive-of-shows-online-for-free/197909/7 "2003-08-27T11:48:13Z")
That’s what I want, the radio show. I’ve heard a few bits and pieces but I’d really love to get a feel for how the radio show went. You know what? This could potentially be a huge boon for file sharing networks. The argument has always been that the bulk was for pirated works but if suddenly you pour a large amount of free-to-use marterial which p2p could use. And helping to take the burden of bandwidth away from the BBC and distribute the burden all around. Well, all I really want is to make a CD of the whole “Whose Line” series to listen to while I play old squaresoft games. ---
**Author:** ![Olive\_The\_Other\_Reindeer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Olive\_The\_Other\_Reindeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Olive_The_Other_Reindeer)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2003, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bbc-to-put-huge-archive-of-shows-online-for-free/197909/8 "2003-08-27T11:50:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by everton \* > \*\*I’m afraid you can forget about that, _Whose Line Is It Anyway?_ is not a BBC show, and nor are numerous others you may have seen on BBC America. \*\* Fotos had borrowed tapes of the original BBC show - something like 20 hrs worth (he worked with a guy from England who lent him tapes from BBC shows). He said the only thing missing from the ABC version with Drew Carey is the “beautiful Samantha”. He also said that the best BBC show he ever heard was “Around the Horne”. He said he used to listen to them in the car while he was driving home from work, and would always have to pull over during the “Julian and Sandy” segments so he wouldn’t have an accident while he was laughing! ---
**Author:** ![Kal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9de053/32.png) [@Kal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kal)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2003, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bbc-to-put-huge-archive-of-shows-online-for-free/197909/9 "2003-08-27T12:03:21Z")
**Fern Forest** : It may be worth checking out the [BBC 7 homepage](http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbc7/) every now and then. They stream the broadcasts over the internet which you hear via RealPlayer or Windows Media Player. They have a week to view schedule [here.](http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbc7/listings/weektoview.shtml) Kal - who is going to be listening to _Round the Horne_ and _The Mary Whitehouse Experience_ tonight. ---
**Author:** ![everton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecb155/32.png) [@everton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/everton)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2003, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bbc-to-put-huge-archive-of-shows-online-for-free/197909/10 "2003-08-27T12:15:45Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Olive, The Other Reindeer \* > Fotos had borrowed tapes of the original BBC show - something like 20 hrs worth (he worked with a guy from England who lent him tapes from BBC shows). He said the only thing missing from the ABC version with Drew Carey is the “beautiful Samantha”. The “beautiful Samantha” idea was lifted from another radio show called _I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue_, which is well worth listening to if you get the chance, especially if you like _WLIIA?_. If you see British Dopers playing a game called Mornington Crescent on the SDMB, that show is almost certainly where they first heard it being played. > [@](#): > > He also said that the best BBC show he ever heard was “Around the Horne”. He said he used to listen to them in the car while he was driving home from work, and would always have to pull over during the “Julian and Sandy” segments so he wouldn’t have an accident while he was laughing! That show was before I was born, but part of the joke was seeing how much they could get past the censors, and apparently a lot of the “Julian and Sandy” stuff was in a gay slang called polari. The BBC already keep an archive of current radio programmes, which you can find at the level above **Kal’s** links. ---
**Author:** ![paulberserker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c4cdca/32.png) [@paulberserker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/paulberserker)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2003, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bbc-to-put-huge-archive-of-shows-online-for-free/197909/11 "2003-08-27T12:30:22Z")
Let’s hope they can get the licensing issues cleared up, because the BBC sure has done some great stuff over the years. I was particularly impressed by the miniseries _Traffik_, the five-hour long inspiration for the U.S. movie “Traffic.” I ended up having to buy the DVD after seeing the first four installments play on Sundance, then missing the fifth. traffik, like whose line is it anyway, was originally broadcast by channel 4 in my recollection, so tat prbably wont be on there either. ---
**Author:** ![paulberserker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c4cdca/32.png) [@paulberserker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/paulberserker)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2003, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bbc-to-put-huge-archive-of-shows-online-for-free/197909/12 "2003-08-27T12:32:07Z")
“tat prbably” could that be spelt any worse? also, im quoting from the OP. gaaa! ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_Ellis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/977dab/32.png) [@Michael\_Ellis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael_Ellis)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2003, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bbc-to-put-huge-archive-of-shows-online-for-free/197909/13 "2003-08-27T12:36:29Z")
Maybe I’ll finally get to see the old _Quatermass_ serials. Yeah, right. ---
**Author:** ![everton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecb155/32.png) [@everton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/everton)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2003, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bbc-to-put-huge-archive-of-shows-online-for-free/197909/14 "2003-08-27T12:40:05Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by paulberserker \* > Let’s hope they can get the licensing issues cleared up, because the BBC sure has done some great stuff over the years. I was particularly impressed by the miniseries _Traffik_, the five-hour long inspiration for the U.S. movie “Traffic.” I ended up having to buy the DVD after seeing the first four installments play on Sundance, then missing the fifth. > traffik, like whose line is it anyway, was originally broadcast by channel 4 in my recollection, so tat prbably wont be on there either. Yes, _Traffik_ was also a Channel 4 series. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2003, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bbc-to-put-huge-archive-of-shows-online-for-free/197909/15 "2003-08-27T17:47:11Z")
Saturday Night Fry!! ---
**Author:** ![neutron\_star](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/51bf81/32.png) [@neutron\_star](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutron_star)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2003, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bbc-to-put-huge-archive-of-shows-online-for-free/197909/16 "2003-08-27T17:52:02Z")
D’oh. You guys are right about _Traffik_. I just checked the DVD. I don’t know how I missed that. Oh well. Thanks for the correction.