BBC Set To Launch Pay-TV Download Service

BBC's Director General, Mark Thompson, has confirmed plans for an iTunes-style download service that will allow viewers to buy programmes minutes after they have finished on TV.
It is understood that the BBC will submit proposals for a paid-for TV download service to the Trust this year.
Nicknamed, Project Barcelona, the new service will operate as an iTunes-style store, working in conjunction with the BBC iplayer, giving users an additional option to pay and "own" new and old programmes.
Currently, the BBC iPlayer works on a seven day window meaning that once a programme has been uploaded for you to watch, after seven days, it will expire, users also have the opportunity to download the programme to their computer, however, there’s only a 30 day turnaround for this also, so after 30 days the programme will expire.
The idea of Project Barcelona is that once a programme has aired on the BBC, it will be uploaded to the store and a user will then have the opportunity to download that programme and keep it for as long as they wish, but for a small fee.
The programme’s will also be uploaded to the iPlayer, but will expire after seven days as usual.
Mr Thompson said: "BBC iPlayer is the most successful and most intensively used catch-up service in the world but it's true that, after that seven day public service window, a large proportion of what the BBC makes and broadcast is never seen or heard of again.
"We want to change that and have started to talk to our partners, including the independent sector and PACT, about a proposal which we will formally submit to the BBC Trust later this year which - for reasons which escape me - we call Project Barcelona."