Wii TV: BBC iPlayer Hits PS3 & Nintendo XBOX
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Catch up TV can now be caught on… well a games console.
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BBC’s new app, iPlayer for TV, is now hitting PlayStation 3 first off, and then to XBOX and Nintendo Wii, meaning gamers can tune into TV without ever leaving their console.
The hybrid app is already available for IPTVs, 3D sets like LG, Samsung and Panasonic smart TVs, as well as other “connected TV” devices, like Blu Rays and Free View systems.
The catch up service is already available on iPad and smartphones.
And demand is phenomenonal says BBC, with requests on connected TVs increasing 500% since its December release – from 579,000 to 3.1 million requests by July.
“At this rate of growth, in the next few years we could well see over half of iPlayer use directly on the living room TV,” BBC predicts.
iPlayer on TV is personalised and can be custom built to suit TV tastes, and is “specifically designed for the living room” and “feels just like TV” say the BBC.
However, this service isn’t available in Oz marking a massive development in the catch up TV movement.
But it may not be too far away, perhaps on the BBC Global service, as the broadcaster gets set to launch an international version of the iPlayer for iPad (although not heading Down Under just yet).
It ain’t all bad for us Aussies on the catch up front. Samsung Apps Store here has recently snapped up BBC News, ABC iView and Explore VOD app for on-demand programmes on Smart TV’s And Blu Ray players.
“BBC iPlayer has been tremendously successful. With today’s announcement, we’re transforming iPlayer in its most natural home: right on the living room TV,” says Daniel Danker, BBC’s General Manager, Programmes & On Demand.
Watching iPlayer is just like TV and as simple as flicking through channels and also has good search and recommendation tools.
Last week, Ofcom reported that 10% of TV sets sold in the UK are internet ready and this is set to catapult to almost 36 million by the end of 2016, according to forecasts.