When the BBC launched its iPlayer, it protected its programmes with DRM to allow them to be streamed up to 7 days after broadcast or played up to 30 days after the time they are downloaded.  However, to allow streaming on the iPod and iPhone, it used the MP4 format without copy protection.  As a result, it did not take long for hackers to exploit this by using a simple Firefox Plug-in to download these streams on a PC, which lack DRM, thus allowing them to be redistributed.

The BBC has just announced that it has now plugged this loophole.  According to the BBC, this has been an ongoing issue for some time now, but it is taking the security of its content very seriously.  They said they will continue to keep a look out for any further circumvention of its copy protection even though they are well aware that this will be an ongoing "cat and mouse game" with the hackers. 

With the major record labels recently giving up on DRM and the major book publishers now also dropping DRM on its audio books, it will be interesting to see just how much longer the TV show and movie producers will put up with enforcing DRM.