Streaming video on the web

why do broadcasters not use Flash?

[RonPK]

The BBC offers it video footage in either Windows Media format or Real format, or both. So do the public broadcasters here in .nl. Does anyone know why they're not offering the video in the Flash format?

IMHO, Flash has many advantages over WMP and Real. It has a 100% customizable interface, and It Simply Works All The Time on all major platforms, which cannot be said for WMP and Real. On my Mac, watching video can be a real pita. I usually have to copy-paste URLs from one app to the other to get some result. On Windows, I'm often forced to fire up IE, because the web designer has decided to embed the video in an ocean of browser-specific javascript.

Flash can be used to stream video too, real streaming that is, not just progressive download. So I just don't see any technical reason not to use it. Is there a reason?

[coopster]

I don't see any technical reasons, except perhaps the developer's lack of experience and/or initiative. Or even perhaps the management team has opposed the idea.