BBC iPlayer ushering in ‘high-end’ websurfing
Many websites are honing their search engine marketing (SEM) strategies and making their multimedia content accessible to Google or Yahoo! web-surfers, but internet service providers (ISPs) are not doing enough to satisfy customers, it was claimed.
Broadband Choices, part of the ConsumerChoices.co.uk Group’s online self-help service, claimed that BBC’s iPlayer success was making downloading and peer-to-peer interaction majority activities, but was placing new demands on ISPs.
A recent customer survey from uSwitch found that the satisfaction gap between the best and worst ISPs has grown from 13 per cent to 21 per cent, hampering the potential for websurfers to enjoy the video services that websites are increasingly providing.
Michael Phillips, product director with Broadband Choices, said: "I think that services like the BBC iPlayer, 4OD and Sky Anytime have taken high-end web behaviour to the masses.
"Previously most people were just doing a little bit of surfing in the evening, whereas downloading and peer-to-peer appeared to be minority activities, whereas now the BBC have made it a mass market."
Providing embedded video content and downloads is often seen as a way for web companies to broaden their SEM scope and generate more user hits.
