The BBC's iPlayer video service will soon be available via the Nintendo Wii.
The video download and streaming service that lets people catch up with BBC programmes will soon be a channel on the hugely popular game console.
Early versions of the service will be available from 9 April but more polished software will be released as the service is developed.
It is great news to see one of the world's leading media authorities such as the BBC backing the Wii so strongly. Keep an eye out for a blue flashing light coming to a Wii near you soon!
For those not in the know the BBC iPlayer will allow you to watch BBC programmes such as The Mighty Boosh on demand with your broadband connection. Superb!
Source: BBC announces Nintendo Wii deal
Comments 37
This is a great idea, it basically turns the Wii into an on-demand freeview box!
Is this only going to be in the UK?
"Is this only going to be in the UK?"
Yes, this doesn't work outside the UK.
Well thats good, I guess. Whatever.
Fantastic news, since streaming has become available on iplayer I've actually had a go at it on my wifes ipod and it's fantastic, hopefully this will start the ball rolling and Joost could appear globally
I understand it being free only in the UK since UK taxes pay for the BBC, but in America I'd be willing to pay some points for the channel. Has that been discussed and/or ruled out?
The only problem is that the bbc is crap. I had a look through all the programmes on there and not one interested me.
But teh Dr Who!!! Lol. I dont understand. Why not just switch on the TV? Does this let you catch up with shows you've missed?
Sweet, is it free? Maybe some North American network will respond and it'll happen in NA!
There should be a mighty boosh game for the wii
Cool! Now I can watch the Super League Show off my wii
Oooh wait a second... no I can't, I had to delete the Internet Channel as I had no space left
Still I shouldn't complain, this is a great idea from the BBC and I may redownload the channel.
This is fantastic news. You don't even have to download a channel/update for it. All you need to do is go to bbc.co.uk/iplayer, choose a programme to watch, and watch it . Works a treat.
I'm Old GREGG!!! You ever drink Bailety's from a shoe?
NO WAY! MIGHTY BOOSH ON THE WII?!
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
Come with us now on a journey through time and space, to a world of the Mighty Boosh!
LOVE THE SHOW! Noel and Julian are comedic geniuses and Little Britain sucks!
Boosh and Top Gear are the ONLY 2 shows on the BBC worth watching. I wish I could pay my full T.V licence money straight to those shows.
Apologies for my outburst, but I've just drank a shoefull of Bailey's and I'm off me tits.
Where's my Cartoon Network update for the US wii's?
Yep, just put it on, works dead easy and it's free!
The picture quality is amazing, blows Youtube out of the water!
Wow. This is absolutely unexpected, and quite brilliant news! Good for the BBC, and good for Nintendo UK!
Outrunner, the BBC iPlayer lets you watch almost any BBC programme from the past week, for free. That's about six channels of output to choose from.
Demon212, good to hear about the ease of use and picture quality too. I'd been wanting to hook our PC up to the telly to watch iPlayer, but didn't want to splash out for the extra cables. Looks like I don't have to now.
Brilliant.
Awesome!
I just watched Dr Who on it and it worked great! Now I just wish there were more bbc shows that I actually like...
So this is the Wii's equivalent of the PS3's Play TV? Sounds pretty awesome, but until I can stream live tv content to my DS through my Wii I wont be interested.
Since the update only affects the internet channel does this mean that the internet channel now has support for the latest version of Flash?
I'm assuming that the iPlayer runs on the latest version of flash to play video for non Microsoft devices.
It would be nice if Nintendo let all of their users get this flash update because most of the websites with flash video don't work with the exception of YouTube since it runs on an older version of Flash.
wouldnt matter to me whether or not it came to US. i deleted my internet channel ( a massive 250 blocks) to free up lots of room for vc games
sadly, there isnt anything good to fill the blocks with : /
lets get some of those top rpgs eh?
Has anyone tried Channel Four's service (40D) yet? I don't know how that one works, as I've never used it.
EDIT: I've jus had a bit of a play with the iPlayer, and it works quite well. Picture quality is good, and there's no real glitchiness. No full screen option though (although you can zoom in using the internet channel controls). Not bad at all for a first attempt!
GREAT NEWS
too bad this is only for the UK, I love the comedy shows on the BBC (Buzzcocks, Little Britain, QI, ...) but I always forget to watch !!!!
I'm not to sure this is the Wii fault's though because even on the net you cannot watch the iPlayer on the BBC-site.
Yes, I'm sure the UK-only restriction is purely to do with issues with the licence fee and such. Since people outside the UK don't pay the fee, they don't get to watch the programming; that's not an issue with broadcast, as the BBC doesn't broadcast its home channels all over the world, but the internet takes those boundaries away, so they have to impose artificial limits.
Evidently no Torchwood fans around here...
Hey BBC,
I'd be happy to pay 500 points a year for this service !!!
That's awesome, I wish we could get the BBC here, when I was in the United Kingdom 2 years ago, I thought the BBC was the best channel in the UK.
So the WII is getting an iplayer channel?
No, you use the Internet Channel to go to the BBC iPlayer site, as if it were any normal site. The big news here is that the BBC have made the iPlayer compatible with the Wii, whereas it supposedly wasn't before.
arobo21 the net channel has an extra 40-ish taking up memory on your data section. The IC is the same size as PM.
I would love to see a Mii of the Hitcher
a CartoonNetwork deal would b great for the US!!!!! their range of content is,imho, perfect!(though i hope futurama would b available still lol) i'd[maybe]like to c a separate channel for that though -- whatever fits viewing better! +,while i'm demandng, while there should b battery packs(rechargable) n "wiimotes", an option to turn them OFF when not n use (such as when viewing iPlayer, ect.) would b cool too! lol
There are several varieties of battery packs for the Wiimote. I have and really like the Nyko version; you can get two batteries and a double charger for $35, and they work excellently. Wiimotes do turn off if you set them down for a few minutes.
I Unforunately cannot enjoy any type of video on the Internet since I am Deaf... but we do have deaf people on youtube.
I can just switch on my tv for... watching tv
ohh i kno they turn off, herander. i'm just too used to Ps3 maybe lol but i really like Wii's potential!! those chargers r pretty good, but i was saying/imagining rather than forcing ppl to buy all the extra items, they should prob come with them. a nice alternative, to save power (mine takes awhile to shut off), would b a "control-off" option. recharging is too much for impatient ppl like me, i guess lol
Chilli chowder! Crouton crouton - crunchy friends in a liquid broth!
I remember when Noel Fielding was on Buzzcocks the first time (not as a guest captain deputising for Bill Bailey, but as a panellist), he was really funny
Mind you, Buzzcocks will be iPlayer gold as well!
do you reckon this will happen for channel 4 and ITV!?
Will never haver to watch normal TV ever again if this happens!!
well done BBC for this!
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