Over 100 PBS local stations start streaming on YouTube TV

Re:Over 100 PBS local stations start streaming on YouTube TV by gtirloni on Tuesday December 17, 2019 @04:44PM (#21819230)

"The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and television program distributor. It is a nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educational television programming to public television stations in the United States..." (emphasis mine)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PBS

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Over 100 PBS local stations start streaming on YouTube TV by techsupporter on Tuesday December 17, 2019 @04:46PM (#21819252)

But the last two words in your quote are "United States."

PBS, like all distributors, licenses content from producers of content--sometimes PBS is the producer, often it is not--for distribution inside a defined territory.

For example, Doctor Who, Red Dwarf, Downton Abbey, and Are You Being Served are all British TV shows licensed by PBS for distribution in the US. PBS can't stream them worldwide same as the BBC can't show some of the content it distributes outside of the United Kingdom.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Over 100 PBS local stations start streaming on YouTube TV by xxpor on Tuesday December 17, 2019 @04:45PM (#21819248)

I can't stream BBC 1 in the US either though.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Over 100 PBS local stations start streaming on YouTube TV by OJFord on Tuesday December 17, 2019 @05:36PM (#21819704)

I thought you could if you have an account and accept the terms (including claiming to have a television licence, which I think requires a (British) national insurance number to obtain)?

Or do you mean as an American in the US?

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Over 100 PBS local stations start streaming on YouTube TV by xxpor on Tuesday December 17, 2019 @06:19PM (#21820068)

Perhaps it's changed, but last time I looked the BBC had simple GeoIP blocking for anyone not inside the UK.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Over 100 PBS local stations start streaming on YouTube TV by ripdog on Tuesday December 17, 2019 @11:24PM (#21821780)

Not simple - they have an extensive blacklist of VPN servers too.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Over 100 PBS local stations start streaming on YouTube TV by mr__y on Wednesday December 18, 2019 @07:01AM (#21823999)

this provides an incentive for someone to provide vpn/tunneling service with IP pool large enough to prevent blacklisting to be effective

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Over 100 PBS local stations start streaming on YouTube TV by Mindwipe on Wednesday December 18, 2019 @10:46AM (#21825983)

That doesn't last long.

The BBC use the same provider as a number of Vegas gambling services, and they're very effective because Vegas is willing to spend lots of money on forensic work.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Over 100 PBS local stations start streaming on YouTube TV by LeoPanthera on Tuesday December 17, 2019 @07:50PM (#21820726)

You cannot do this even as a Brit in the US. Everything on the iPlayer (except radio) is geo-restricted to the UK, and they're really very good at playing whack-a-mole with the VPN services as well.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Over 100 PBS local stations start streaming on YouTube TV by Spooky23 on Tuesday December 17, 2019 @04:46PM (#21819251)

They still buy syndicated content and have licenses for distributing things like BBC.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Over 100 PBS local stations start streaming on YouTube TV by wnevets on Tuesday December 17, 2019 @05:19PM (#21819536)

Like others have pointed out they're still licensing from content creators to broadcast in the US.

This is why new Sesame Street episodes are now on HBO and not PBS

[ Parent | on HN ]