The BBC is to introduce the ability to watch any show from its beginning.
The Restart feature is being brought in via the Green Button on a range of smart TVs, typically those manufactured after 2012.
As viewers switch to a BBC channel a small graphic will appear prompting them to press to press the Green button. Doing so will load the BBC iPlayer and plays the programme from the start.
Dan Taylor-Watt, head of BBC iPlayer, says: “Live restart is one of BBC iPlayer’s most valued features, and we’ve now made it even easier to access from our broadcast TV channels. We’re hoping pressing the green button to restart will become a natural part of watching TV, much as pressing the red button has for millions of people each week.”
Live restart was pioneered by BBC iPlayer, and has been available to viewers on connected TVs and for web and mobile browsers for some time. Already more than half of people watching BBC iPlayer live on TVs use live restart, and almost one in five BBC iPlayer viewers across all platforms use it.
The new feature is available now across BBC One and BBC One HD, BBC Two and BBC Two HD, BBC Four, and will be rolled out to BBC Four HD in the future.
