Comments on: Changes to BBC News Website reduces choice for users outside UK

By: martin

martin — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 19:43:41 +0000

I am a UK citizen who pays the licence fee in full and find it annoying that I cannot access BBC UK content when I am abroad. I have to spend time abroad each year. I am in the ‘other’ category of being a UK citizen who pays the licence fee but has to spend time abroad and wishes to access BBC UK content.
Surely the BBC could dupply a pin number or similar system which identifies you as a UK licence fee payer and allows you access to the UK content of the BBC site and iplayer etc. Civilisation is becoming more global yet the internet is becoming more localised and insular.

By: Leo Tolstoy

Leo Tolstoy — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 00:13:34 +0000

I am also an alien living in the UK, and I was very disappointed that the BBC removed access to the “international” front page.
Worse, in the last couple of weeks they seems they have decided that the international RSS feed http://newsrss.bbc.co.uk/rss/newsonline_world_edition/front_page/rss.xml
should no longer be accessible from the UK. I can see no reason for this at all – neither feed contains adverts, they all contain links to pages served wherever you are in the world.

By: kim

kim — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 08:59:50 +0000

I’ve never lived in the UK but I’ve been a BBC addict since 2005. It’s simply frustrating to stumble on videos for UK users only. In all common sense, it doesn’t make any sense!

By: Ken Lewis

Ken Lewis — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 16:20:19 +0000

For UK users, AOL appears to use a server in switzerland which makes the BBC think such users are outside the UK. The hacked link to the BBC works but the easiest solution appears to be to use IE or Firefox which use a UK server and that makes the BBC happy. Wont work for non-UK users sadly.

By: buy_vigrxplus

buy_vigrxplus — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 12:49:37 +0000

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By: Fartpip

Fartpip — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 22:17:27 +0000

As an expat ben, how much tv licence do you pay towards the BBC. I really don’t think you should expect anyone to take any notice of you.

By: Ged Sweeney

Ged Sweeney — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 10:03:45 +0000

Hi Ben
I see that Steve Herrmann has now opened 4 blogs on the “Changes to the International Pages” subject.

Although in blog 4 he finally (IMHO) elaborates in a bit more detail as to the reasons behind the changes I still feel his answers are not satisfactory. The other dissatisfying aspect is the length of time it has taken Steve to reply

I suspect that the BBC will not reverse the changes but it is interesting to watch them twist and turn as they try to defend the indefensible

By: Richard Wilkinson » Blog Archive » Changes to BBC News Website reduces choice…

Sun, 21 Jun 2009 18:45:46 +0000

[...] Changes to BBC News Website reduces choice for users outside UK | :Ben Metcalfe Blog [...]

By: WeeJayOne

WeeJayOne — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 15:40:24 +0000

Brilliant. Thank you very much, Ben, for these most refreshing insights. Extremely valuable help there.

Steve’s now replied, addressing some, though not all remarks, on yet a new blog entry (3): http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/theeditors/2009/06/changes_to_international_pages_1.html

I’d appreciate your own comments on this, Ben. Again, very many thanks, and well done!

By: Chris Matchett

Chris Matchett — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 09:49:06 +0000

Thanks muchly for those URLs. I’m in the UK but using Opera Mini on my phone which uses a Swedish proxy server. I had lost my football, cricket and london news on the front page until you helped me get it back!
This episode has lost a lot of goodwill . If it wasn’t for the poor design of other news sites I would have been long gone by now.