# Why isn't there subscription-based online live terrestrial television streaming servi **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 21, 2005, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-there-subscription-based-online-live-terrestrial-television-streaming-servi/304894 "2005-05-21T20:31:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2005, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-there-subscription-based-online-live-terrestrial-television-streaming-servi/304894/1 "2005-05-21T20:31:35Z")
ce SBOLTVSS With the commonality of high-speed connection these days you’d think TV companies would cash-in and stream their feed online. It would be tv on your pc without a TV card! And people could watch TV at work! (within reason) ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2005, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-there-subscription-based-online-live-terrestrial-television-streaming-servi/304894/2 "2005-05-21T20:40:09Z")
Its the legal system, not the technology that is holding everything up. We don’t yet have a good way of enforcing the copyright holder’s rights in cyberspace and people are leery of putting their work up because of it. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2005, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-there-subscription-based-online-live-terrestrial-television-streaming-servi/304894/3 "2005-05-21T21:34:29Z")
This week, the Beeb have started trials of making popular programmes available… I don’t see that it’s really a major copyright headache that’s causing such delay with TV, given that they’ve been streaming their radio output since God-knows-when, with plenty of archived stuff also available. Perhaps it comes down to advertising? How do you get somebody to watch adverts in an online broadcast? ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2005, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-there-subscription-based-online-live-terrestrial-television-streaming-servi/304894/4 "2005-05-21T21:41:02Z")
> [@GorillaMan](#): > > Perhaps it comes down to advertising? How do you get somebody to watch adverts in an online broadcast? Well If it’s a live feed surely the way to get people to watch adverts is to broadcast them. Those who would browse somewhere else are those who might turn over the TV. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2005, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-there-subscription-based-online-live-terrestrial-television-streaming-servi/304894/5 "2005-05-21T23:54:44Z")
Can ‘servi’ be plural of sevice? Thus redeeming the thread title? No? Grumble. ---
**Author:** ![Flying\_Ice\_Cream\_Badger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3ab097/32.png) [@Flying\_Ice\_Cream\_Badger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flying_Ice_Cream_Badger)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2005, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-there-subscription-based-online-live-terrestrial-television-streaming-servi/304894/6 "2005-05-25T01:50:20Z")
Winamp has a “Winamp TV” option. It’s full of free streaming channels owned by regular people. THey’re different from regular TV channels. One of them, for example, is all Futurama. ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2005, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-there-subscription-based-online-live-terrestrial-television-streaming-servi/304894/7 "2005-05-25T02:48:42Z")
> [@GorillaMan](#): > > I don’t see that it’s really a major copyright headache that’s causing such delay with TV, given that they’ve been streaming their radio output since God-knows-when, with plenty of archived stuff also available. I think a major difference is in the economic models. Radio, for the most part is in the business of selling music. That is, musicians pay radio to perform their songs. TV, for the most part is selling advertising. TV stations buy TV shows from producers. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2005, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-there-subscription-based-online-live-terrestrial-television-streaming-servi/304894/8 "2005-05-25T06:35:13Z")
> [@Shalmanese](#): > > I think a major difference is in the economic models. Radio, for the most part is in the business of selling music. That is, musicians pay radio to perform their songs. TV, for the most part is selling advertising. TV stations buy TV shows from producers. I was talking specifically about the BBC, which isn’t funded by advertising. ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2005, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-there-subscription-based-online-live-terrestrial-television-streaming-servi/304894/9 "2005-05-25T07:20:44Z")
If your talking about the BBC, I think part of it was trying to develop a way to verify if someone on the internet is located in Britain or not. And the BBC does not own the copyright of the majority of shows it airs. Even if they derive no ad revenue from a show, by broadcasting it for free, it could hamper the creator’s ability to get revenue from it at a later date. Basically, radio = the more times you play it, the more money the artist gets, tv = the more times you play it, the less money an artist gets. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2005, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-there-subscription-based-online-live-terrestrial-television-streaming-servi/304894/10 "2005-05-25T07:26:53Z")
> [@Shalmanese](#): > > If your talking about the BBC, I think part of it was trying to develop a way to verify if someone on the internet is located in Britain or not. > > And the BBC does not own the copyright of the majority of shows it airs. Even if they derive no ad revenue from a show, by broadcasting it for free, it could hamper the creator’s ability to get revenue from it at a later date. > > Basically, radio = the more times you play it, the more money the artist gets, tv = the more times you play it, the less money an artist gets. Again, none of this ties in with the situation with the existing radio streams and playbacks. These are available worldwide, and include many (non-music) programmes produced by third parties. [This](http://www.geekinformed.com/content/view/200/2/) suggests they’re happy to rely on digital rights management for the TV system.