BBC News and BBC World to merge

[Matrix]

The attitude of the BBC to other broadcasters in “protecting” its programmes for license fee payers is interesting. Now there are very good reasons, rights related and protecting lucrative overseas sales, for geoblocking non-news programming but the “protecting for license fee payers” argument is one that the BBC uses but isn’t really used by other public broadcasters elsewhere. For example RTE takes the view that it should make available it’s news and factual programmes worldwide (ones that have no chance of overseas sales, of course) and justifies this as offering a public service to the diaspora and helping them keep in touch with home, even through Irish license fee payers pay for them. This is pretty much seen by the Irish public (to the extent they are aware of it, that is) as A Good Thing, and there’s no suggestion they should be restricted to ROI or ROI/NI only if they don’t have to be.

Many countries, particularly in the Nordics (especially Denmark and Norway), follow the BBC's funding model.  Yet they make a full version (less rights-sensitive footage where necessary) of their newscasts available worldwide (though it is not possible to see it live but is made available shortly afterwards).

Also, it does not explain why the BBC makes much of its live domestic radio output available without geoblocking.  Surely they are funded by licence fee money too (including World Service which wasn't intended for domestic audiences to begin with).  In general, one thing I don't get is why block domestic TV but not domestic radio services?

International rights is a huge issue for programming, not necessarily news coverage but think about the rights issues associated with programmes like Killing Eve (which has a fairly *wild* distribution agreement) and you begin to see why geo-blocking exists. 

The same sorts of rights issues don’t really exist with radio - although, arguably, the growth of podcasts is a form which can be restricted or limited in a much more systematic way if required. 

So: the answer to the question boils down to £££. In a nutshell.