LOGIN SOON REQUIRED FOR BBC iPLAYER

All users of the BBC's iPlayer service will have to log in with a personal account from early 2017. Users of BBC services can already create an online account - known as a BBC ID - but this is not currently required in order to access iPlayer. At the end of last month, BBC ID holders have also had to add a postcode to their account.

TV Licensing has access to the information but the BBC says it has no current plans to use it for enforcement purposes. The corporation says the changes are part of an attempt to make its services more personal and localized. Anyone watching BBC program via iPlayer, both live and catch-up, has been required to have a TV license since the start of September.

About seven million accounts already exist, the BBC said.

There's no indication how many users will be allowed from one account. The measures are part of an effort to stem evasion of license fee payment. As a by-product, pirates re-transmitting iPlayer streams will find it more difficult to operate, as will those viewing the BBC from other parts of the world through VPN services.

News source: skyinmadrid.com

THE EUROPA DIGITAL TEAM