ERA - Educational Recording Agency and Box of Broadcasts (BoB)

Educational Recording Agency (ERA) logo
Visit the Educational Recording Agency website
Zoom
BoB logo
Visit the Box of Broadcasts website
Zoom

 

The ERA licence allows registered users to use off-air TV and radio programme broadcasts for educational purposes.

Recordings can be watched or listened to by University students and staff, for example, in a teaching room or off-campus via a Canvas course.

ERA members include such organisations as, the BBC, Channels 4 and 5, ITV, S4C and the Open University. 

(Here’s a full list of ERA members.)

The best source of broadcasted content can be found in Box of Broadcasts (BoB).

Our ERA licence allows us to subscribe to this service, which enables staff and students in the UK to watch or record programmes from over 60 free-to-air channels (Here’s the full list of channels currently available via BoB).  

Please read the terms and conditions for using BoB.

The Open University logo

 

 

 

 

Visit The Open University website 

 

How to use the ERA Licence

Please note that any programme or excerpt you use must be clearly identified with the following information (which can be found under each video on BoB):

  Other conditions of using BoB are:

  • UK students can access the links to programmes on or off campus – after logging in
  • Students who are not in the UK will not be able to see the programmes – it is a UK only facility
  • Excerpts of programmes can be made using the BoB Make Clip option shown beneath each video
  • Any programme or excerpt you use must be used as it was broadcast – it cannot be adapted.

 

Accessibility tips when using BoB 

  • Subtitles are available on all programmes viewed via BoB – click on the Play arrow to see the option to turn subtitles on or off (see below).
  • It is also possible to Show Transcript if it is required.

how to turn on subtitles

Further information, including links to video tutorials can be found on the BoB FAQ page.

 

Acknowledgements:

ERA, BoB and OU logos used with permission