The BBC is to make its extensive television and radio
archives available online.
The move, announced by BBC director-general Greg Dyke, will make
selected material for which the BBC owns the rights available for
private, non-commercial use in the UK.
This resource has remained locked up until now because there has
not been an effective mechanism for distribution, but digital
technologies and broadband communications are changing that
situation, Dyke said.
The project, known internally as the BBC Creative Archive, will
allow viewers to adapt content for their own use under a simple
licensing system, Dyke said.
The idea is still in its early stages, according to a BBC
spokeswoman, so few additional details are available, but said it
would focus principally on factual programming.
Dyke suggested the archive would be used by schoolchildren
preparing presentations for their classes. They will be able to
download video clips using the broadband connections found in
libraries, schools or in their own homes, and incorporate them into
project work.
The archive project is a way of giving back to the public what
already belongs to them, he said, as the BBC's programmes are
developed with public money.
Peter Sayer writes for IDG News Service