WATCH VIDEO. After launching on Microsoft’s Xbox Live platform, BBC iPlayer is now available on every major gaming platform in the UK.
Xbox 360 users with Kinect will benefit from enhanced functionality. For the first time it is possible for BBC iPlayer users to discover and play programmes using hand gestures and voice recognition.
The addition of the iPlayer follows the recent launch of Vevo, in an attempt by Microsoft to make the console appeal to a wider audience. The Vevo app allows the viewer to create playlists, share the videos through Live and Facebook and also takes advantage of Kinect to swipe through the video list, as well as use voice commands to search for videos. Unlike the iPlayer, which is available to all, Vevo is only available to Xbox members with a Gold Live account.
BBC iPlayer is now on over 450 platforms and devices. Daniel Danker, BBC general manager, programmes and on-demand, said: “As we continue our work to make BBC iPlayer as simple as possible, we’re also excited to experiment with natural user interfaces made possible with Kinect, including voice and gesture control. We believe it’s early days for these experiences, but see a great future working with partners such as Microsoft on innovations like these.”
Stephen McGill, director of Xbox and entertainment for Microsoft, said: “The addition of BBC iPlayer takes the service to the next level. We offer a formidable line-up of the best TV and entertainment – both live and on-demand – from providers such as Sky, Channel 4, Channel 5, Netflix, LoveFiLlm, Blinkbox, MSN, YouTube and many others.”
The BBC has seen 433 million requests on TV devices in 2011. This means one in four iPlayer requests are on the TV. At this rate, the BBC projects that by 2015, over 50% of requests will be via TV devices.
Watch the video – please note – because of copyright restrictions the video might not play in all territories.
