Standalone iPlayer radio
October 8, 2012
The BBC has launched iPlayer Radio as it revamps online audio.The new service will see audio separated from the existing BBC iPlayer and offered as part of an individual service on desktop and mobile.
An iPhone app is to be launched soon – however apps for other devices, such as Google’s Android, are not yet ready. Daniel Danker, BBC general manager for programmes and on-demand, blamed complications with Flash for the delay in the Android app, but added that discussions are ongoing to resolve the problems.
The new app will mean users will need to download separate iPlayer apps in order to access either television or radio content.
There are currently no plans to offer the app to international listeners.
“Our next steps will be to make live radio more interactive, make it easier for people to enjoy the BBC’s vast audio archive and strengthen radio’s position as the number one place for discovering music in the UK.”
The BBC app will come into competition with the recently launched UK Radioplayer app. An initiative backed by the BBC and commercial broadcasters which attempts to give a consistent look and feel to listening to radio content on the web.