David Farnor | On 06, Oct 2014

The catch-up window for BBC iPlayer has been extended to 30 days.

The BBC’s video on-demand service has grown significantly since its debut back in 2007. Now, it offers live-streaming as well as catch-up services on both 3G and Wi-Fi connections and regularly premieres previews of broadcast content or exclusive titles (for example, Frankie Boyle’s Referendum Autopsy – pictured above). The audience has grown too, with BBC iPlayer now receiving over 7 million TV and radio programme requests a day. While select TV shows and radio programmes have been available to stream for 30 days after their initial broadcast, though, a large number of titles were only available for a week.

Now, that window has been extended to one month. The expansion arrives just in time for the busy autumn season, which has seen gangster drama Peaky Blinders – starring Cillian Murphy and Tom Hardy – return, as well as the second season of The Fall and new comedy Detectorists. It also follows a redesign of the whole service this year to make it more compatible with a range of devices and easier to use.

Tony Hall, Director-General, BBC, says: “BBC iPlayer pioneered online viewing. It is recognised as not just the first, but the best service of its type in the world. It offers amazing value. But we want to go further. That’s why we began reinventing iPlayer earlier this year with a brand new redesign and features.”

Ralph Rivera, Director of Future Media, BBC, explains that they have noted a lot of people searching for titles after the initial seven-day catch-up window has expire. For example, BBC One smash hit Happy Valley saw a huge 154,000 searches in the three weeks after it became unavailable on BBC iPlayer.

“There is a huge demand to make programmes available for longer on BBC iPlayer,” says Rivera. “Whether it’s on the bus on their mobile – or on their tablet in bed at night, I’m really pleased that we’re able to give our audiences longer to watch and listen than ever before.”

Downloading TV programmes on BBC iPlayer will also move to a 30 day catch-up window in the coming months.

 

Photo: BBC/Zeppotron/Allan Amato

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