How catch-up TV works
There are two ways to produce it. The channel's stream can be recorded continuously and cut into programs using the schedule, so each program appears as an on-demand item minutes after it ends. Or the original program files can be published to the catalog on a schedule that follows the broadcast.
Either way, each item carries an expiry date and disappears when its catch-up period ends.
Catch-up and related features
- Catch-up: watch a past program on demand for a limited period
- Start-over: restart a program that is currently on air from its beginning
- Time-shift or pause live: rewind within the live stream itself
- Cloud DVR: recordings the viewer chooses to make, stored by the service
Rights and limits
Catch-up is a right that has to be granted. Broadcast licenses often allow it for some programs and not others, and for different periods, so a catch-up service needs per-program rules. Sport, films and acquired series are the usual exceptions.
Advertising differs too. The broadcast ads in the recording are typically replaced with ads chosen at the time of viewing.
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