TVCatchup - filling the gaps left by broadcasters?

The not-so-mysterious case of might have seemed over before it began; allowing people to tape UK TV programmes and then watch them online at leisure. Can anyone see a problem there?

The broadcasters have spent millions on their own catch-up Tv service - the BBC's four years' worth of iPlayer, ITV's service and Channel 4's 4OD. They won't discuss the details, but have pressured TVCatchUp's internet service provider to withdraw its services, so the site cannot run.

The final straw for the broadcasters has been that since early this year, the site has run with advertising alongside the content and so is making money from those broadcasters' content without paying for it. One broadcaster described the service as "having the hallmarks of being problematic in every way".

Photo by EVERYDAYLIFEMODERN on Flickr. Some rights reserved.

We've had some interesting response from readers, including one TVCatchUp member Joanne Mallett:

"I noticed that the broadcasters said that they were concerned about the 'free' online viewing. TVCatchup online, was just as free as a Sky or NTL box that you have in your living room. A Sky box has to be paid for every month, as does an
NTL box, and they let you record or rewatch programs which were missed.
The internet has to be paid for every month too, yet they feel that the
viewing is free, when actually it's just as money-taking as when you're
in your living room re-watching programs.

"If they can give permission for their programs to be shown and recorded
on a Sky or NTL box, surely they can give their permission for them to
be shown online. They're all just as 'free' as each other."

And Jonathan Crellin:

"Shame on ITV and C4. TVCatchup provided the only way to view their recent programs online without buying an MS Windows licence. If the BBC can now offer flash based online TV programs without DRM why can't ITV and C4?

"Difficult to see why they were so quick of the mark to close a website that did not directly compete with their own sub-standard service - it just extended to people they do not serve."