Watch ITV, Channel 4 and Channel Five via BBC's iPlayer

by Steven Mostyn - Feb 18 2011, 14:06

With an international version of the iPlayer set to launch in 2011, chances are you didn’t think the BBC’s online catch-up service could get any better. You’d be wrong… kind of.

More pointedly, Auntie Beeb has today revealed that programmes from rival stations such as ITV, Channel 4 and Channel Five can now be accessed through the iPlayer hub.

Although not proper cross-channel integration in the truest sense, iPlayer users will be able to search for—and link through to—other UK on-demand services without leaving the BBC’s core platform.

“We think BBC Online should serve as a hub to support other UK sites and [we] want to double the traffic we send externally,” commented Paul Clark, the BBC’s head of Audience-Facing Services, Programmes and On Demand in an official blog post.

“Given the popularity of BBC iPlayer, we hope this feature will support fellow broadcasters and boost the overall uptake of video on demand,” he added.

Officials at the Beeb have said that any UK broadcaster regulated by media watchdog Ofcom can apply to appear via iPlayer.

Other services already available include Welsh channel S4C, SeeSaw.com, and the MSN Video Player.

For those BBC fans living outside of the UK, the international iPlayer is expected to go live before the close of 2011’s second quarter.

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