The BBC has confirmed it will be bringing its BBC iPlayer app to the Apple TV. The British broadcaster confirmed via Twitter and its website that it will launch the streaming service for the new set-top box in the “coming months.”
BBC iPlayer will be coming to the new Apple TV in the coming months…
— BBC iPlayer (@BBCiPlayer) October 29, 2015
The BBC, via MacRumors:
“Available on over 10,000 devices, BBC iPlayer is one of the biggest and best on-demand video services in the world, and has transformed how UK audiences watch programmes online,” said the BBC’s director-general Tony Hall.
“I am delighted that iPlayer will be coming to the new Apple TV in the coming months, helping to bring the BBC’s distinctive and loved content to an even wider audience.”
BBC iPlayer allows on-demand access to the popular British channel’s content library. While the app wasn’t available on previous models of the Apple TV, users could view it on the box via AirPlay from their iPhone or iPad device. Versions already exist for the Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, Roku, Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and other streaming devices.
BBC initially announced it had “no plans currently ” to develop an iPlayer app for Apple’s new streamer. However, due to pressure from viewers, and in the face of developers who built their own own proof-of-concept app BBC viewer for the device, the public broadcaster announced the app would be coming soon.
BuzzFeed News has announced that Apple has confirmed that Siri is coming to Apple Music on the Apple TV, around the beginning of 2016. The Siri functionality will allow users to use voice commands to control Apple Music on their televisions.
This means that using the Apple TV remote control, people will be able to say, “Play ‘Hotline Bling’” or “Play the newest Taylor Swift album,” and Siri will take it from there.
