BBC launches streamed iPlayer

The BBC's controversial on-demand service, the iPlayer, is now able to stream content over the web.

Instead of surfers having to download an application to access iPlayer content they can now have the footage streamed over the web.

The streamed service will allow you to watch up to 250 different programmes a week for up to seven days after broadcast on the BBC's television channels.

Though the new streaming services are compatible with Mac and Linux, the BBC's Anthony Rose said it wouldn't be until next year that there was a downloadable application for these platforms.

"One of the many updates we hope to implement in 2008 is a download solution for users of other operating systems including Macs," he said.

The service is live on the web now, though the iPlayer will not be officially launched until Christmas day.

"Streaming is the first in a number of new services that we will be rolling out in the coming months and we will be listening to feedback from our audiences to understand how they find the service and what new additions they would be interested in," Rose said.

The iPlayer has been surrounded by controversy since a beta version that was only compatible with Microsoft Windows XP and Internet Explorer was launched in the summer.

A petition was set up, demanding that the BBC make it available to people using different operating systems and browsers.

The government then stepped into the row, saying that it was satisfied that the BBC was going to make available on other operating systems, and that the BBC Trust - essentially the broadcaster's board of directors - would ensure that this happened.

www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer

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