The Space: Frequently Asked Questions

General

What is The Space?

The Space, developed by Arts Council England and the BBC, is a new service which provides free and on-demand access to the work of artists and arts organisations, including theatre, concerts, opera, dance, film and more, to every screen. The pilot, which ran from 1st May 2012 to the 31st March 2013, has now come to an end.

From 1st April, hundreds of hours of original work direct from some of the nation’s greatest artists and arts organisations will remain free and on demand for you to enjoy as The Space Collection, including full performances, unique behind-the-scenes access, rare archive and interactive collections.

You can explore what’s on The Space here.

When will the service resume?

The Space will be back, new and improved, with unmissable live premieres and performances, exclusive new commissions, and innovative new formats to play with.

To receives updates about the launch of the next phase of The Space register here.

Where can I find The Space?

The Space is available across all four key digital media platforms: PCs, smartphones, tablets and internet connected TVs with compatible open browsers at tv.thespace.org, and on Freeview HD and Freesat if you have a compatible receiver.

Why have Arts Council England and the BBC created The Space?

The Space was created to change the way people can enjoy and experience the arts, live, free and on-demand; to provide a place for artists and arts organisations to produce innovative new work in new formats for the main digital platforms; and to help build digital skills in the arts sector. The pilot was timed to capture highlights from the extraordinary London 2012 Festival and the Cultural Olympiad.

At the heart of the service, Arts Council England commissioned original work from more than fifty emerging as well as established artists and arts organisations. You can find a list of these commissions here

Can I submit my artistic work to be shown on The Space?

There will be no new content added to The Space during this next phase of the project. You can register to receive updates on The Space here.

How can I find out what’s coming up on The Space?

You can register to receive updates on The Space here.

You can also follow The Space on Twitter and Facebook to get alerts.

Will I have to pay to access content on The Space?

No – all of the work on The Space platform is free for viewers.

I missed an event on The Space. Will it be repeated?

From 1st April, The Space will continue to make available on demand a collection of work commissioned during the pilot phase. You can explore The Space Collection here.

How can I make The Space more accessible to suit my needs?

You can find information on making The Space site more accessible here.

You can also find the list of audio-described and subtitled work here.

How accessible is The Space?

The Space has produced accessibility guidance which was written for all of the organisations commissioned to produce work for The Space. You can see this here:

http://www.artscouncil.org.uk/funding/apply-for-funding/strategic-funding/thespace/

However, The Space is a pilot project, developed within a tight timescale and not all organisations were able make their material fully accessible. We are undertaking a thorough evaluation of all aspects of The Space, which will include issues related to diversity and equality, both from the perspective of those creating work for the platform, and those accessing the work. This evaluation will help shape any future work the Arts Council and BBC undertake in the area of digital production and distribution.
For details about accessibility, click here.

How do I contact The Space team?

If you can’t find the answer to your question in our FAQs, you can contact us about any issues on thespace.org by using the ‘Contact Us’ button below and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can.

Do I have to register to use The Space?

No you do not need to register to use The Space. However if you would like to receive future updates about The Space service, you can register here.

How can I advertise on The Space?

We do not allow any advertising on The Space.

How do I contact The Space team?

If you can’t find the answer to your question in our FAQs, you can contact us about any issues on thespace.org by using the ‘Contact Us’ button below and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can.

Do I have to register to use The Space?

No – you do not need to register to use The Space.

How can I advertise on The Space?

We do not allow any advertising on The Space.

How is The Space regulated?

The Space is regulated by ATVOD (The Authority for Television on Demand), the independent co-regulator for the editorial content of UK video on demand services that fall within the statutory definition of On Demand Programme Services. For ATVOD’s address and for further information please visit the ATVOD website.

What is The Space’s privacy policy?

You can find our privacy policy here: Privacy

Is The Space collecting my personal data?

You can find out more about this by reading our privacy policy here: Privacy

Technical

Is there an App for The Space?

There is not an app for The Space; however, some of the work featured on The Space may include a downloadable app. You can explore by media type here.

What are the minimum requirements for accessing www.thespace.org?

The Space aspires to be accessible to everyone and the site has been coded to W3C standards. However, it is an experimental service so there are some caveats:

- It is recommended that you ensure your browser has been updated to a recent version as compatibility with older browsers has not been tested

- The Space is not responsible for the artworks it presents and it is likely that not all artworks will be fully accessible

How do I access The Space on my PC or Mac?

As an experimental service The Space is built to take advantage of the latest web technologies. Whilst coded to W3C standards, legacy browsers or older browser versions will not enjoy full feature parity.

The Space is optimised for use in modern HTML5 browsers on Windows 7 and Mac OS X Lion (10.7) and Snow Leopard (10.6), particularly the most recent versions of Safari, Chrome and Firefox.

How do I access The Space on my smartphone?

The Space is optimized for use on iPhone 4/4S. We are also making best efforts to support Android 2.3 (‘Gingerbread’).

How do I access The Space on my tablet?

The Space is optimized for use on iPad 1 or 2. We are also making best efforts to support Android 3.2 (‘Honeycomb’).

How do I access The Space through my connected TV?

If your television is connected to the internet (via your broadband router) and your television has a browser, you can access The Space’s smart TV interface by entering the following url into the address bar http://tv.thespace.org
The Space is optimized for use on a selection of 2011/2012 smart TV models including some Samsung and LG televisions. We cannot guarantee that the service will work on all television models.

How do I access The Space on Freeview HD?

If your television is connected to the internet (via your broadband router) you can access The Space on Freeview channel number 232. The Space via Freeview HD is compatible with a number of devices such as:

Whilst it’s not possible to give an exhaustive list we hope to be able to add to this list as the project progresses.

How do I access The Space on Freesat?

If your television is connected to the internet (via your broadband router) you can access The Space on Freesat channel number 908. The Space via Freesat is compatible with a number of devices such as:

Can I access The Space from outside the UK?

We have primarily built The Space as a platform for audiences in the UK, but most content is available to be viewed by people outside the UK at www.thespace.org

Can I bookmark The Space using Mydex?

You can bookmark content on The Space using Mydex. Mydex allows you to store your bookmarks and snippets of text online in a personal data store (PDS). If you have the Chrome browser then you can install an extension which will make it easy to store your bookmarks in Mydex.

These terms explain how Mydex is made available to you on The Space and how you may use content from the Space.

I’m having problems with streaming, what can I do?

Streaming requires an internet connection that’s free of bottlenecks. However, the internet isn’t a direct pipeline from the source to you. Streamed content passes through many other computers on its way to your PC via your ISP. If any one of them is carrying too much other traffic, the streamed content may be interrupted and pause. Streaming problems are more likely to occur on a slow computer or device that has a smaller memory and processing power. Even with a fast computer or device, if you have too many applications open it could slow down your media streaming. If you notice things are sluggish, close all unnecessary applications and windows on your computer or device. The faster your network connection (modem, cable, DSL) and computer speed (in megahertz), the higher the quality of the stream.

Read how The Space was built here.

Read the story of what happened behind The Space here.