Customers of UK broadband ISP BT and EE, specifically those who also take their internet-connected pay TV service and use the Pro Box in ‘Internet Mode‘ (i.e. streaming live channels rather than using an aerial), will find that they face new limitations on their ability to record and re-watch BBC content from 21st August 2024.
Until now those with ‘Internet Mode’ enabled on the related set-top-box could still record TV content directly to local storage on their Pro Box from the streamed BBC channels, much like you can when watching via a regular aerial connection. This was then available to replay at your leisure, which made it quite handy.
However, Cord Busters and various posters on the operator(s) official community forums (e.g. here and here) have picked up on a recent customer notification, which signals a significant change in this approach. Not that you’d know it from a quick glance.
Extract from EE’s Customer Email
As you’re watching EE TV in Internet Mode (without an aerial), the way you watch your BBC recordings will change.
From 21st August, your BBC recordings will launch through the BBC iPlayer app. There’s no change to how you’ll record a programme, or where it will be stored.
Put another way, the recordings may oddly still be stored on the box, but your access to record and re-watch related content is going to be limited by iPlayer’s policies. For example, much of iPlayer’s content is only made available for 30 days after broadcast (sometimes longer, sometimes shorter) and downloaded programmes are generally available for the same amount of time. But not everything gets added to iPlayer and content does expire, which will also impact your recordings (i.e. you won’t be able to watch what isn’t available).
The move echoes what we saw last year when a similar change was introduced for streamed ITV content. No doubt some customers will now revert to using ‘Broadcast Mode‘ (i.e. using their aerial to watch and record TV channels instead of streaming them), although it’s worth remembering that terrestrial TV transmissions are often said to be on the slow path to retirement by around 2030 (here).