BBC Archive

I’ve banged on about the iPlayer for a long time - a service that when launched fully will be an incredible asset to the BBC and will probably mean I rarely watch their channels live - for now it’s a bit of a damp squid.

However, putting the iPlayer to one side for a minute, there is something MUCH more interesting happening and coming over hte horizon and that’s the opening up of the BBC Archive.

The BBC Archive is one of the most incredible things in the world - it could be labelled as a modern wonder if it wasn’t for the fact that it’s locked up in a big vault somewhere and not available.

But that’s all changing - The Open Archive project is basically going to be making as much of the BBC Archive available for people to download (or at least watch online) as possible.

This will include everything from early Doctor Who to Blue Peter and newsreel - across radio and television. But it’s a big project and one of the biggest problems is clearing the rights for every show they want to put up.

Sometimes this is just a case of offering enough money to the various rights holders involved - this includes actors, musicians, cameramen, directors and writers - other times it’s impossible because the writer refuses to give permission for it to be shown again.

BBC Rights expert Simon Hayward-Tapp explains on the latest public bit of the Open Archive trial why the BBC can’t make every programme in its archive available on demand for people who pay the licence fee to watch again.

There are a wide range of interesting, complicated, pointless and baffeling reasons that I can’t be arsed to go into - just watch the video.

But the Open Archive is going to be much more than just a load of video clips - it’s a network/tapestry of British broadcasting history and of Britain as a whole - it’s a fantastic way of showing how society has changed in specific areas over the last 80 years or so.

In fact you can see just how that might work by looking at the first bit of the Open Archive Trial that has actually been opened to everyone - a partnership with the India and Pakistan season team.

Around 70 shows from Radio and Television since the 1950s have been put online for people to watch and run right up to today. It shows how India, the perception of India and Indians has changed since the 1950s in everything from drama and comedy to blue peter and the news.

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