[python-uk] [OT] Petition to Make UK TV Listings Free for Use on the Web

[Michael Foord]

Hello all,

Sorry for the off-topic post, but I thought it would be the sort of 
thing that interests people like us. :-)

http://www.terryburton.co.uk/blog/2007/05/sign-my-petition.html
http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/Free-TV-listings/

Currently anyone publishing television listings in the UK is required by 
law under Schedule 17 of the Broadcasting Act 1990 to pay a royalty, 
which BDS (Broadcasting Data Services) collects on behalf of the 
broadcasters.

By releasing television schedule details into the public domain many web 
sites will be able to integrate this information into their content, 
creating a tighter convergence between the web and television which will 
benefit advertisers, broadcasters, webmasters and importantly, the 
consuming public.

And my motivation for creating it is explained in this extract from a 
mailing list post:

There are several voluntary projects that wish to combine a database
of extensive program information with an XML feed of the non-free
official channel listings to create an uberfeed that can be used to
schedule recordings, etc. Unfortunately they are prohibited from doing
so.