News for hackers. Stuff that matters.
Re:Tomorrow’s world: A guide to the next 150 years by jrogers65 on Thursday January 31, 2013 @08:11AM (#5144760)
Likewise. This is the rationale:

> We have an unusual requirement when it comes to developing the BBC website – it carries advertising internationally but not in the UK, and we have to build and design for both these situations simultaneously. The site carries advertising internationally so that UK licence fee payers don’t cover international costs.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/help/site_versions.shtml

So essentially the reason that we cannot view the page is because we would see adverts when we have already paid for the content. What a Kafkaesque situation.

Re:Tomorrow’s world: A guide to the next 150 years by sageikosa on Thursday January 31, 2013 @09:17AM (#5145050)
Do you have to pay separately to see the adverts? :-P
Re:Tomorrow’s world: A guide to the next 150 years by simonh on Thursday January 31, 2013 @10:12AM (#5145299)
I think it's that the BBC is actually precluded by charter from carrying advertising in the UK, so they don't have any choice in the matter.
Re:Tomorrow’s world: A guide to the next 150 years by shocks on Thursday January 31, 2013 @08:12AM (#5144769)
I would rather see adverts than nothing...
Re:Tomorrow’s world: A guide to the next 150 years by jrogers65 on Thursday January 31, 2013 @08:27AM (#5144823)
Given that they can already determine the country of origin by the IP quite effectively, I don't see why they don't just hide the adverts for UK viewers. This is a good example of well-intentioned insanity.
Re:Tomorrow’s world: A guide to the next 150 years by archangel_one on Thursday January 31, 2013 @09:50AM (#5145200)
I disagree on "quite effectively"; they don't let me see quite a lot of content from work because they think I'm not in the UK, even though I physically am a licence payer in London.

To add to the insanity though, I can't see this article either.

Re:Tomorrow’s world: A guide to the next 150 years by madaxe on Thursday January 31, 2013 @09:02AM (#5144977)
I'd like to see their budgetary proof that not a penny of license-payer money was used on this. What about overheads (Light, Heat, Power, Rent)? Do they partition those out? I doubt it.
Re:Tomorrow’s world: A guide to the next 150 years by nacker on Thursday January 31, 2013 @09:50AM (#5145205)
Orwell learned about Big Brother when he worked at the BBC, that's where the phrase "Big Brother" came from.

http://www.corbettreport.com/episode-253-the-bbc-exposed/