The BBC is set to launch an international version of its catch-up TV service, iPlayer, after the BBC Trust gave the project the go-ahead.
The BBC revealed it is still deciding whether it will charge online viewers to watch episodes of shows such as Eastenders, Doctor Who and Top Gear, all of which have big fan bases outside the UK, or whether to introduce advertising onto the service.
John Smith, chief executive of BBC Worldwide, told the Telegraph, the move would open up the "under-exploited" market for these UK shows.
"Not only will that mean international fans of, for example, Doctor Who can get their fix legitimately [rather than downloading programmes illegally], but it has the potential of opening up a new revenue stream for the entire UK production industry, alongside sales to traditional broadcasters," Smith said.
It is thought web users would pay up to $10 to view an episode.
Until know, iPlayer has only been available to web users located within the UK.
See also: New BBC iPlayer offers social features
Comments
Dani said: First off for those of us that love Doctor Who enough and want to watch it via our computers instead of via BBC America or some other similar connect you can buy it episode by episode from both Apple and Amazon You still have the two week gap from the time its aired in BBC to when its aired on BBC-A but it only costs 199 US Dollar an episode and you can download it onto up to 2 items ur comp and ur phone for example Or you can watch it streaming from their website Im an Amazon fan myself Its easy and legit Theres another writer that says iPlayer will be 10 a month but unless iPlayer is going to offer more I would recommend another venue- 10 bucks a month or week iPlayer or 8 bucks a month Amazon