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BEEB VERY AFRAID

BBC iPlayer will soon require viewers to enter a password to prove they have a TV licence

The Beeb claims it wants to help people 'personalise' their telly watching, but its new system will also allow it clamp down on freeloaders

USERS of the BBC iPlayer will need to enter a password to access the online catch-up service within the next few weeks.

Although the Corporation denied the move was part of a crackdown on licence fee evaders, it admitted the new system would allow them to identify people who are using the service without paying.

Anyone who wants to watch the iPlayer needs to have a TV licence

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Anyone who wants to watch the iPlayer needs to have a TV licence

From Thursday viewers of the catch-up service will be notified with a message saying they “will soon need to sign in to watch” and encouraged to do so before the deadline in a few weeks.

Currently, people who use the iPlayer are asked if they have a licence – but this honesty policy is hardly likely to deter Brits who don’t want to pay to watch BBC shows.

The introduction of a login, which was revealed last September, is part of the BBC’s plans to make services “more personal and relevant to you”, said MyBBC launch director Andrew Scott in an online blog.

This includes tailoring programme suggestions to users based on previous choices and will allow people to start watching a programme on one device before picking up where they left off on their TV.

It comes after new rules were introduced last year which meant that viewers must have a TV licence to watch or download BBC programmes on demand through iPlayer.

Mr Scott said the reason for making the changes “isn’t about enforcing the licence fee – it’s about giving you a better BBC and helping you get the best out of it”.

He added the BBC would not be using “mass surveillance techniques or ask internet providers for IP addresses” to identify evaders. However, information provided “can help TV Licensing ensure that people are abiding by the law”.

He added: “By matching email addresses we may be able to identify someone who has told us they don’t need a TV licence while at the same time having signed in and watched iPlayer.

“So we will now use this alongside our existing enforcement techniques to help identify people who are watching licence fee-funded content without a licence.”

Mr Scott said the BBC was “continuing to look” at whether a verification system was required for the iPlayer so non-licence fee payers cannot access content for free.


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