Channel 4 to make 10,000 programs available online

Channel 4 is soon to become the first broadcaster in the UK to archive online TV shows for viewing, free of charge. No longer will you have to purchase that expensive DVD boxed set as it will appear in its entirety, online. The move will not include some foreign programs such as Friends or Channel 4 News items due to rights and legal issues.

From July the broadcaster will put up around 10,000 programs in their catch up service for the user to enjoy. Unlike ITV and the BBC, Channel 4 does not actually commission it's own programs, this could be a move then to remind us what the broadcaster has given us over the years.

Online TV popularity has increased in recent years as users want to watch the shows they want, when they want. Channel 4's archive move will add to the choice viewer has today.

This could though present an interesting dilemma for the BBC. The successful iPlayer provides content from certain popular programmes, however, there is no 'back catalogue' or large archive of shows and content gets removed after a certain period. A potential stumbling block for the BBC could be the issue of license fees. It was announced recently that some BBC bosses have called for a charge issued to the online viewer who is effectively getting a license service for free. This could make a BBC venture into the archived online TV market tricky, at least for now.