iPlayer arrives on Sky Player... sort of

 

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By Stuart Turton

Posted on 20 Oct 2008 at 15:23

The BBC has struck a deal with Sky to make its iPlayer content available through the satellite company's Sky Player service.

Around 400 hours of weekly content is available through iPlayer, though it has been reclassified to fit Sky's own listings, which break programming down via categories such as entertainment, music and sport.

However, in an odd twist, clicking on a BBC program, such as Doctor Who or EastEnders, will simply transfer the user to the iPlayer website.

"The addition of links to content from BBC channels further demonstrates Sky's role as a leading online aggregator with access to one of the broadest selections of online video," says Griff Parry, the director of on-demand at BSkyB, explaining the move.

The Sky Player features on-demand catch-up of most of Sky's popular programming, including Fringe and crime-drama Bones. The service allows current Sky customers to replay television they already subscribe to, however, non-Sky subscribers can also pay-per-view to access content.

There's no fee for accessing BBC content through the Sky service.

The BBC recently announced it was bringing its popular service to portable media players. It's also available through Virgin Media, and Nintendo's Wii.