BBC Worldwide announced to launch its global iPlayer service Thursday. This iPad app will be first available in 11 Western European countries. It plans to enter U.S., Canada and Australia market later this year, Media Guardian reported.The 11 countries include Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, The Republic of Ireland, The Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland.
User need to pay €6.99 (about $10) a month, or €49.99 (about $72) a year, for subscription, and then can get a limited amount of content for free, supported by pre-roll ads and sponsorship.
The global iPlayer app has some differences than the UK version, including the ability to stream shows over 3G or Wi-Fi, as well as to download programmes for offline viewing, PCMag reported.
Subscribers won't have access to all the on-air offerings. BBC said it has hired a team of editors to "curate" the content on the iPlayer, selecting shows to put on the app. It will also allow subscribers to go beyond the typical genre and title browsing by creating themed collections around subjects and events.
"This is not a catch-up service: this is a video-on-demand service," said BBC.com managing director Luke Bradley-Jones. "We will have content from the last month, but also the best from the catalogue stretching back 50 to 60 years."
Though the content at launch will be the same for all 11 countries, the BBC has the ability to tailor the content to meet special demands for each region.
"We see the global BBC iPlayer very much as another 'Channel' operating in Western Europe," said BBC spokesman Alex Fulton to PCMag. "By adopting windowing strategies for our content, we are able to ensure that our broadcast partners and Channels around the world are able to entertain their audiences with our shows."
Image: BBC
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