BBC iPlayer to Allow Downloads On-Demand

[Maura]

The Guardian reports today that the BBC is to update its very popular iPlayer with the ability to download BBC programmes to watch anywhere and at any time. The downloaded programmes can be kept for 30 days, and will be available to BBC licence payers (i.e. pretty much everyone in the UK, as you have to have a BBC license in order to watch TV in the UK) for free, as is the app itself. As the Guardian notes, this is a change in approach for the BBC as far as its iPlayer is concerned, as it has previously only streamed programmes to tablets and smartphones, although the programmes have been downloadable onto computers.

“This fundamentally changes one of the most annoying restrictions about viewing programmes,” Daniel Danker, BBC general manager of on-demand programmes, told The Guardian. “It means audiences are liberated from the constraints and it fundamentally changes what it means to go on holiday.”

At present you will need a Wi-Fi connection in order to download iPlayer content, but The Guardian says that you will soon be able to download certain shows via 3G.

Click here to download the free app: App Store - BBC iPlayer

Source: BBC allows mobile iPlayer downloads | Media | guardian.co.uk, iTunes.