BBC hopes to catch up with iPlayer

IT HAS taken a couple of years for the Global iPlayer to become a reality, but BBC Worldwide is hoping that the extra time taken to develop the service will have paid off.

The commercial arm of the BBC yesterday released the iPad application to users in 11 countries, including Ireland, as part of a one-year pilot programme.

The idea was first raised in a Chinese takeaway restaurant with BBC director general Mark Thompson in Silicon Valley a couple of years ago, just as the iPlayer was taking off.

“We started thinking how we could translate that success into the international scene, because we really believed we had something to offer in that space,” said Luke Bradley-Jones, who also heads up BBC.com.

Although the names are similar, the Global iPlayer application shares little in common with its UK counterpart, bar a name, and some programmes.

“This product is really something quite different. Whereas our news service is a very broad appeal service, we think this is more a premium but niche proposition,” said Mr Bradley-Jones.

“We think we’re creating something brand new here. There is no service like it. We think at least initially the way to go is to target that core group of people who are British ‘superfans’.”

While the iPlayer in the UK is a seven-day catchup service with live TV and radio included, the Global iPlayer app is a broader proposition. Instead of being limited by channels, it will be content-led and defined by different genres.

BBC, meanwhile, has engaged editors to “curate” the content into collections, hoping to stir interest in some of the more obscure programmes.

Although some content on the app will be free, thanks to a deal with sponsors, the full application, and access to the BBC’s archive of classic shows, will require a subscription – €6.99 a month or €49.99 for the year. “We looked very hard at whether we could make an advertising model work,” said Mr Bradley-Jones.

“Over time we’ll look to offer a range of different packages.”

The company is planning to use the upcoming months to gauge feedback to the application, which will only be available to iPad users at the moment. If it’s successful though, the application will likely be moved on to other devices, with BBC hoping to expand to iPhone, Android and other mobile devices.