Dear BBC … why oh why, oh why?

Am I missing a trick? Last Saturday all I wanted to do was put my feet up with a nice cup of tea to watch an episode of BBCs Strictly Come Dancing on me laptop. A small pleasure admittedly but not much to ask, surely? I am however unable to achieve my modest ambition. Why? Because it seems we cannot watch BBC television in real time on the internet. Maybe we can but I just don’t know how to? (answers on a postcard please). I am convinced the technology exists but it isn’t happening. It must exist because you seem to be able to view realtime ITV and realtime Channel 4. Currently the BBC provide highlight packages of news, poxy podcasts and programmes which have already been shown which nobody ever watched in the first place. Maybe they are afraid that if they let the monster out of the box they’ll never be able to shoehorn it back in. They have a lot to lose. How would they police the licence fee if viewers decided to get rid of their television to go and do something less boring instead? If we could watch BBC channels in real time on the internet then we would never miss our favourite programme and we wouldn’t need a telly. We could catch the live news on the train home or Eastenders on our laptop in the coffee shop or pub. It would be free and we’d never need to stump up for the licence fee (currently a whopping £135.50 per annum). 

As mobile devices become more sophisticated this is the next major step forwards. Taking live BBC with you to work or on holiday should be an option. We’ve paid for these progammes to be made. Instead Aunty Beeb decides which clips they will put on the internet and a cursory glance reveals they are not live. Furthermore they are often the clips from the flagging programmes they want to push.  The whole lot should be up here and available. What are they waiting for? I’m just of to watch a two hour old news bulletin and then a trailer for Murphy’s Law. Heaven forbid I should be able to watch it all live. Don’t get me started on BBC podcasts ….