this post was submitted on 26 Jun 2025

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277

The BBC is launching a paywall in the US (www.niemanlab.org)

submitted 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

65 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Time to unfollow them, I guess.

(page 2) 16 comments

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 days ago (2 children)

I know there’s rights issues and all but if they made a real BBC streaming service with their back catalog and every David Attenborough special in 4K, it’d be one thing but Americans are inundated with news and streaming services. I pay for my local newspaper’s digital site — mostly because if I don’t, who will? But even The NY Times has to have recipes and word games to keep people subscribed. Why would anyone pay more than a dollar a month or something for BBC News?

The U.S. seems like an odd place to trial this. It’s the most competitive media market in the world and we’re all already sick of being asked to pay for 40 different services. In conclusion:🏴‍☠️

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 days ago (1 children)

i mean they basically have that with britbox

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 days ago (5 children)

They're not that great anyway. They're barely holding on to my personal list of reliable sources. If I really need something, there are other places to go. Good luck BBC.

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[–] [email protected] 21 points 2 days ago (7 children)

And just at a time when the US really needs a decent news service…

I am sure this was discussed at the Starmer - Trump talks as a way to further isolate Americans from the truth.

I guess it’s just Al-Jazeera now…

[–] [email protected] 18 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Exactly this. Isn't the point of the BBC world service to communicate/propagandise the British view of what's happening in the world to other countries? Imagine Russia Today adding a paywall? It's counter to the entire point! I think you may be on to something about this being a concession to Trump.

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Feels like subscriptions are inevitable for everything these days.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 days ago

Well to be fair, a perpetual license for media/news wouldn't make sense

[–] [email protected] 11 points 2 days ago (1 children)

BBC announced it’s introducing a paywall for consumers in the U.S

It seems like it’s only for the US? If that’s true can you update the title OP

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 days ago (1 children)

🌹Done🌹

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[–] [email protected] 28 points 2 days ago (2 children)

It seems just for people in the US. So hopefully the rest of us will be fine.

[–] [email protected] 23 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (5 children)

I love the US defaultism even when they’re talking about another country’s public news station

(edit: the title originally just said it was adding a paywall without mention of any country)

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[–] [email protected] 19 points 2 days ago (1 children)

So that sounds to me that Americans should use a VPN to pretend they are accessing the website from Europe

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[–] [email protected] 60 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Gotta get that TV loicense.

[–] [email protected] 22 points 2 days ago

I suppose the TV licence in the UK is a sort of paywall, even if it is made of swiss cheese and enforced by folk with all the legal standing of Larry the Head Mouser or whatever moggy it is now.

I pay it, but I'm loathed to now. Not because I watch any live TV or BBC programming, but because I use the BBC News site a metric fucktonne and I suppose I justify it to myself as funding the BBC News department rather than Graham Norton's salary.

Maybe I'll fuck it off though. I do fancy a letter war with Capita or whoever managed the enforcement these days.

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