BBC iPlayer extends catch-up service to 30 days
You can now watch BBC programmes up to a month after they originally aired through the BBC iPlayer catch-up service.
Previously, you could only watch BBC programmes up to seven days after they were first shown, but that’s now been extended dramatically to a 30 day period.
The BBC had promised such an extension a year ago – almost to the day. It arrives just in time to for the corporation’s busy autumn schedule, where new series of Peaky Blinders and The Fall are expected to drive demand for the iPlayer catch-up service.
This extension also applies to BBC iPlayer Radio. However, as pointed out on a recent BBC blog, it doesn’t apply to the BBC iPlayer download service, which still applies the old seven day rule. The BBC claims that this side of the service will incorporate the new 30 day set-up soon.
Naturally, there are some exceptions to this new provision, with some programs contractually obliged to be available for less time (such as Crimewatch and Match of the Day). Others, like Question Time, are available for up to a year.
BBC iPlayer is recognised as one of the best and most popular catch-up services in the world. At its peak, with the first episode of the latest series of Sherlock, it attracted 3,643,900 requests for a single program.
Last year, the service recorded 3 billion requests in total.
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Via: BBC News