“Adobe is driving the next generation of video delivery by accelerating the fusion of TV and the Internet. With more control over playback, interactivity and branding, the move to Flash Player compatible video will help the BBC to engage audiences by delivering a seamless, instant-on Web video experience.”
-Bruce Chizen, CEO of Adobe

The British Broadcasting Company (BBC) will be utilizing Adobe Systems Inc.’s Flash software for its iPlayer streaming media service. The iPlayer will allow BBC viewers to download Beeb programs for up to 7 days. Then users will be able to watch the shows for about 30 days before the programs automatically deletes itself.

Ashley Highfield is best known for his contributions to the BBC’s digital strategy growth and the iPlayer. He was recently recognized as Silicon.com’s #5 in the Top 50 Agenda Setters after the Facebook founder and the Google, Apple, and Cisco CEOs.

The BBC iPlayer is available in the U.K. only and is currently compatible with just PCs, not Macs.  But the iPlayer should be available for the Mac by the end of the year.

Information Source:
[1] Adobe press release: BBC Enters a Strategic Relationship with Adobe to Enhance Accessibility of BBC iPlayer and bbc.co.uk

Last September, Yahoo! arranged an event called Open Hack Day at Yahoo!’s headquarters in Sunnyvale, Calif.  The turnout was great.  Attendees used Yahoo! technologies and APIs to come up with their own applications.  Music was provided by pop artist, Beck.  TechCrunch founder, Michael Arrington judged the applications created by the attendees.

Although I was not able to attend the event myself, my friend Mo Kakwan won the award of Best Schtick for using a picture of Patrick Stewart on his Flickr.  The full story on that is available at:
http://pulse2.com/2006/10/03/funny-guy-mo-on-yahoo-hack-day-06/
Mo also made a video of his experience at Hack Day below:

The Hack Day event in London will take place at Alexandra Palace on June 16th and 17th.  Five hundred developers will be invited and there will also be a musical guest.  The event is sponsored by Yahoo! Developers Network and BBC Backstage. 

Sign-up forms are available at:
http://hack.eventwax.com/hack-day/register

There is some additional information on Matt McAlister’s blog post:
http://developer.yahoo.net/blog/archives/2007/04/hack_day_london.html

Today Yahoo! announced that BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) News clips will now be offered through the Yahoo! News website. There will be a total of 30 news clips offered per day. This deal is made possible with Yahoo!’s agreement with ABC News. According to Reuters UK, “maintains exclusive representation for BBC news on-demand broadband and wireless content in North America” and financial details were not disclosed.

“We are pleased to bring the renowned journalism of the BBC to Yahoo! News, a leading online news service that reaches millions across the world,” stated Richard Sambrook, a director of BBC’s Global News division. “The demand for BBC content in the United States is growing all the time and we believe our expansion on new digital platforms is critically important to helping us meet that demand [source].”

About 11 months ago, ABC News signed the agreement to become the representation arm of the BBC in North America to provide BBC content via broadband and wireless mediums. The videos will be free for Yahoo! users, but will contain advertisements.

“The BBC has established itself as an unparalleled global news-gathering organization, and its content will be a tremendous complement to the world class news already available on our site,” stated Scott Moore, who is the head of news and information at the Yahoo! Media Group. “The BBC has a cool factor with younger audiences, a natural fit for Yahoo! News users who are generally younger than audiences at other news organizations.” ABC (American Broadcasting Company) also has clips on Yahoo! News.