Don't want to go off at too much of a tangent here BUT....  BBC is a PUBLIC utility (even though it charges a licence fee).  I've always paid my taxes (and still do, and in fact I currently have the lowest tax code I've ever had).  Furthermore, I would be more than happy to pay the licence fee for the privilege of receivng BBC here.  Are there not those among us who have pads in the UK where they spend part of the year and pay the fee anyway even though they only use the facility for part of the year.  I would have thought that the ITV channels are missing a trick by not transmitting their advertising to all the ex-pats in Europe.  Something that Sky may have already twigged. ?
Does anybody know what the Beeb's (if it's their decision) rational is for the restrictions ?