ITV is launching a simulcast streaming service for the iPhone. Content from ITV1 and ITV2, including the World Cup, will be simulcast through the application that will go live on June 11, 2010. Instead of being available through the Apple App Store, crossing swords with Apple’s approval process, ITV has instead opted for a web-based application.
In addition to the streaming ITV1 and ITV2, World Cup matches carried on ITV4 will also be made available through the iPhone.
The application has been developed by Red Bee Media and funded through pre-roll and banner advertising. Red Bee’s Broadcast Data Services will also provide schedule information.
Ben McOwen Wilson, ITV’s outgoing director of online and interactive said the aim was to make ITV content available wherever viewers wanted to watch it. “As the only UK broadcaster to screen the World Cup on mobile, this application offers advertisers a dynamic way to interact with viewers and puts ITV at the forefront of mobile VOD.”
Alan Wright, Chief Commercial Officer, Red Bee Media, added: “The ITV web app is a compelling offering that, using our sophisticated metadata platform, Teleview, provides ITV viewers with a much richer, branded service than other video streaming options.”
In March, plans by the BBC to launch dedicated applications for its mobile content were postponed following an intervention by the BBC Trust. Its commercial subsidiary BBC Worldwide has subsequently begun to launch applications to users outside the UK.
