BBC axing iplayer downloads could be discrimination

So, having comprehensively trashed local radio using the excuse that it had to invest more in digital services, the BBC is withdrawing the ability to watch iplayer on a PC. This affects the service that they continually plug on TV to such an extent they appear not to want anyone to watch live TV anymore. Worse still, it’s sneaking the notice out on the iplayer help page, presumably in the hope that too few will notice in time for any sort of backlash. That rather smacks of the Vogons’ approach to planning notices as described in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.

It could be regarded as a case of discrimination because it’s probably those of us with slightly more birthdays under our belts who use a PC rather than a phone or tablet. I don’t want to watch TV on a teeny-tiny phone screen. What’s the point of producing grand, expansive programmes such as David Attenborough’s nature documentaries just to cram them into a six-inch phone screen? Might as well go back to the 405-line resolution of old TVS, and save the expense of HD and UHD! Nick Willcox

The iplayer is an excellent service and the BBC is supposed to champion the value of ‘inclusivity’. This unfair decision doesn’t make me and my family feel included. Clearly the money men and metropolitan elite in charge of the BBC do not understand the reality of living in the UK today. I live only 12 miles from the centre of Edinburgh and have been promised broadband through some sort of fibre since 2017. We’re still waiting, with no guarantee of ever being connected.

In 2020, we took advantage of the universal service obligation to move from an exceedingly slow copper-wire internet to one that’s supposedly at least 10Mbps via 4G. But as we all know, 4G is unstable and download speeds are variable. For example, when local schools release their pupils, hundreds of mobiles are switched on and internet speeds plummet so internet connection is lost.

For me, the only way to watch BBC programmes online and uninterrupted is to download them to a computer. I don’t have a tablet and I don’t see that watching TV on a phone is practical. I understand the BBC needs to find savings, but there are many other, better ways to do that.

CA SAYS Peter Watson

We’ve now received more emails about this than any other subject this year, proof that readers’ anger about the BBC’S decision is widespread. We’ve responded by explaining how you can use an unofficial program to download iplayer shows – see our Workshop on page 38.