British expatriates who miss the joys of UK television will soon have reason to rejoice as the BBC begins a global expansion of its internet TV catch-up service iPlayer.
The iPlayer service allows users to watch BBC television and radio programmes, after they have aired, for free on the internet. Up until now this service has only been available to UK isers, with global users blocked by the BBC.
However, now the BBC has finally begun the planned expansion of the service, and the first area to gain from it will be western Europe, in the form of an iPad application.
Initially, the international iPlayer will be a trimmed down trial version, showing more of a showcase of older BBC shows as opposed to the catch-up style service UK users have. A BBC spokesman previously said: “The global iPlayer will not be the BBC's entire UK services for a year wrapped up in an app. It will be a combination of current and past shows, editorially tailored for different international audiences.”
If the trial run is deemed to be a success then expect iPlayer to be rolled out to more foreign countries.
While final details have yet to be disclosed, it is believed that there may be a subscription charge.