BBC Set To Kill iPlayer App For Windows Phone

The BBC is killing off the iPlayer app on Windows Phone, after which users will instead be forced to access the site through their web browser.

However, Windows Phone users will only be able to access iPlayer through the Microsoft Edge browser on Windows 10, meaning anyone running an earlier version of the operating system will have to upgrade first.

Announcing the news on its FAQ page, the BBC claims that cost is the primary reason for the removal of the app, which will happen in April this year.

No more Windows

Speaking to Silicon, a BBC spokesperson said: “When the BBC iPlayer app was originally created it was not technically possible to playback BBC programmes via the browser.”

“As it’s now possible to playback via the browser it’s no longer cost effective for the BBC to maintain a BBC iPlayer app for Windows mobile devices. And by using the browser version of BBC iPlayer, Windows phone users will get the benefits of the web version as it evolves.”

The BBC notes that Windows 8.1 users won’t have access to video content but will still be able to play radio programmes. It also provides a link to Microsoft’s Windows 10 Mobile Upgrade Advisor app so users can check whether their device can be upgraded.

This is not the first time the BBC has made life difficult for users to access iPlayer. In 2015 it
blocked a number of public VPN services used by viewers outside the UK as, according to a spokesperson, the use of such services “breaks our terms of use.”

Shortly after this iPlayer, along with BBC news and several other digital services, when offline after a suspected distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack. A group calling itself New World Hacking later claimed responsibility for the attack, saying that it was “only a test” of their server power.

Quiz: The BBC’s Technology Journey