In December, a series of reports suggested that BBC was working on a subscription-based version of the popular iPlayer streaming service for iPad, targeting a mid-2011 release only in “certain markets” with both free and paid versions.
According to PaidContent, the BBC iPlayer app for iPhone and iPad is now nearing final release and should be available by the end of February, ahead of BBC’s technology director Erik Huggers departure to Intel.
The service’s web-native version already works on iPhone and iPad, to a fashion. Executable app versions are likely to work a lot better. Some Android users have complained about lack of plans for their smartphones.
The service will be available only in the UK, though BBC Worldwide is planning an international, subscription iPlayer containing different shows.
The iPlayer service registered a record 145 million requests in December 2010, with users making 4% percent of those requests through mobile browsers. A native iPlayer iOS app could bring more features than simple streaming via Mobile Safari, like social integration, support for AirPlay, a better UI and a faster navigation system.
