Global iPlayer to close in June
May 13, 2015
The BBC has confirmed the global version of its iPlayer streaming service will close on June 26th. The corporation had charged users subscription fees to watch programmes via the app in Western Europe, Australia and Canada. However, it never launched in the US.
Reports suggest US pay-TV operators had threatened to drop the BBC America channel if the app had launched locally because they believed it would lose them viewers.
Both BBC America and the global iPlayer screen some of the corporation’s best known programmes, including Doctor Who and Top Gear.
Users have been notified of the switch-off, and auto-renewing subscriptions are being cancelled. A statement on the BBC Worldwide website says: “We would like to thank all of our subscribers for using the service. We are now developing plans to launch new digital services across multiple devices.”