Western Europe First in Line for iPlayer Rollout

The global roll out of BBC’s iPlayer has begun, with Western European iPad users being the first to gain access.

It’s been three and a half years since the Beeb launched its now massively popular iPlayer web app. Now, the broadcaster is preparing for a global roll out of the service. First to get the iPlayer treatment is western Europe. However, though iPlayer is free for UK residents (we pay for it through our licencing fees), those outside the UK will have to pay for the privilege of using it. The international version will also supposedly be different to the UK model, which only showcases recent catch-up content.

BBC hasn’t nailed down the details yet, but the pricing is though to be less than $10/£6 per month. According to the Guardian, the BBC’s Jana Bennett says the western Europe rollout is "very much a pilot" and iPlayer will be rolled out "in a careful and measured way." A date for the U.S. roll out has not yet been named.

Of course, only iPad users will be able to access the BBC’s iPlayer for now. Support for additional devices and regular online viewing is in the works but there’s little in the way of details regarding those plans.