I am an Irish citizen and like most Irish people, I watch a lot of British TV (either that or rubbish RTE). The basic cable package over here consists of all the major UK stations such as BBC 1 and 2, Channel 4 and ITV (UTV over here). Being an Internet geek I rarely turn on the TV any more and prefer to watch television shows on the Internet. Some of my favourite shows are on the Channel 4 network such as Shameless, The Inbetweeners and Skins. I regularly use the application 4OD to watch full episodes of my favourite TV shows completely free and legally.
However, some of the networks that have online players for TV streaming have a strict UK only policy such as The BBC with their BBC iPlayer. Channel 4 where the kind ones who allowed us Irish citizens from the Republic to watch their content as well, just as we do on TV.
Recently Channel 4 have decided to shut down the application for 4OD and opt for a web based version of the service which is accessed through an Internet browser with Adobe Flash Player, just like YouTube for example. Their is one problem with this. The web version is only available to residents of the UK so 4OD is not available in the Republic of Ireland any more. Their reason for this is that some of the content on 4OD only has rights to be shown in the UK and they do not have the systems that can filter out that content from Irish viewers. Their remedy is to block all of the content from any IP Address that is from outside of the UK. This means no more 4OD for Ireland. I find this unfair as I have supported Channel 4 and E4 just like any British citizen and pay to watch it on my TV so why can't I catch up on missed episodes on 4OD just like I used to? 
So I wrote this post to let Irish people know that when Channel 4 do shut down the 4OD application, They will not be able to watch 4OD on the new web version. I understand that it is a British television network but it's the fact that they allowed us to watch before when it was application based and now they are taking it away.
A lot of their profit would be from their Irish market so I feel we have as much right to the 4OD service as the British. I think this is just going to encourage Irish people to use services such as TV Shack to stream TV shows for free and bit torrents to download them. This way Channel 4 and other networks won't be earning any ad revenue at all from the potential 4 million Irish residents. It will be Party Poker and Adult Friend Finder that make the cash now. What do you think? Are you annoyed that 4OD is being taken away from you? Are you annoyed that you can't use other players such as the BBC iPlayer or do you think that Irish people shouldn't be expecting free TV off British networks at all. Leave a comment and let me know. Hopefully they'll sort it out before Skins Series 4.
[Update]
The Head of Online Products, Channel 4, Richard Davidson-Houston has commented on this post with the following information;
"Hello.
I'm sorry service has been suspended. I'd be annoyed if I lived in Eire.
We really are planning to do the work necessary to block only the specific programmes for which there's a rights problem.
I don't know when yet but I hope to soon."
So there is still hope.
[Latest Update]
I have received word from Mr. Richard Davidson-Houston, Head of online product management at Channel 4 that 4OD is back in Ireland. I am in college at the moment so haven't checked but I'll take his word for it. After all he was very polite and used the greatest medium ever to report the news to me....Twitter.
So leave a comment confirming that 4OD is working for you now if you live in Ireland.
Thank you Richard Davidson-Houston.
40 comments:
-
Hello.
I'm sorry service has been suspended. I'd be annoyed if I lived in Eire.
We really are planning to do the work necessary to block only the specific programmes for which there's a rights problem.
I don't know when yet but I hope to soon.
Richard (Head of Online Products, Channel 4) - IckleBanana said...
-
Thanks for The comment Richard. I have added it to the post itslef as further information on the issue.
- Dave O'Keeffe said...
-
Kudos to Mr. Davidson-Houston for making an effort to reply. Judging from his online presence, and his interest in customers, I can see that he is one of the good'uns of the corporate giant. Seriously, fair play to all at 4 for making a service different from the others.
I started to experience 4oD some time ago, and I began to encounter various critical problems due to the buggy Adobe Flash Player issues on Vista that Channel 4 are sure to know about by know. Maybe this issue, which seemed unresolved, pushed them towards the online catch-up service, as replacement to the desktop application? Who knows, either way, web seems better.
However, Richard, you should check out integration with programs like Miro (www.getmiro.com). These are the new way forward, and they could work very well with your catch-up service. I've tried it, and I'm loving it. Simple, easy-to-use, and doesn't replace your online service, if set-up correctly.
Again, thank you for your reply. My faith in 4 has not been lost. -
I'd be annoyed if I lived in Eire.
- well that's a bit much -
its really annoyin i av bn watchin 4od 4 ages,went on holiday to nottingham 4 a month ,come back yesterday try to log on to my channel 4 account cant get on,then finally get in2 menu to choose wat i want to watch and it says not able to watch in my area,i think it really unfair,no email warnings or nothing,thanks c4...
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Hey, I was using the 4od application and was informed (maybe even more than once, I'm not sure) by email that it was being taken away so emails were sent out but must not have gotten to you. I think the best strategy would have been to resolve the issue before taking away the application to ensure a smooth changeover. There are millions of people in Ireland who watch channel four and potentially millions who use or would use the on demand service. It's a pity because they seemed so progressive at first and have fallen to the same old problems as usual.
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I have recieved word from Mr. Richard Davidson-Houston, Head of online product management at Channel 4 that 4OD is back in Ireland. I am in college at the moment so haven't checked but I'll take his word for it. After all he was very poliet and used the greatest medium ever to report the news to me....Twitter.
So leave a comment confirming that 4OD is working for you now if you live in Ireland.
Thank you Richard Davidson-Houston. -
Yes, it's back.
Love to all at Channel 4HQ, and Richard. -
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