The New BBC iPlayer Review 2024 – Redefining British Streaming

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Are you wondering what New BBC iPlayer is? Do you know what people use it for? What can you watch on it? If the answer to at least one of these questions is ‘yes,’ then this BBC iPlayer review article is for you. The New BBC iPlayer is a video streaming service platform like Netflix and Hulu, to name a couple.

Despite having many competitors, it is still the number one go-to streaming platform for many people. The service has existed for a few years, with a few updates, but this article x-rays the newly improved version. Herein, we will review the BBC iPlayer platform in-depth, from the features to the Pros and Cons, pricing, and a few others. Read on to learn more.

What is BBC iPlayer? Your Portal to British Broadcasting Excellence

The platform allows users to watch Sports, TV series, and documentaries. You can also choose to watch on demand. Also, you can download the videos on the app or stream them online with your internet connection. Another feature available to BBC iPlayer users is live TV. 

However, the platform collects data like your streaming location and personal info. Also, it can share these details with third parties if needed, but rest assured your data on the platform is encrypted in transit. 

Over the years, BBC iPlayer has been the top choice for many people. It currently has over 10 million downloads on Google Play Store. Also, it has a 3.9-star rating with over 139k reviews, of which about 60 to 70% are positive. This shows that the platform is a great choice for video streaming.

BBC iPlayer Availability: Can You Stream it in Your Country?

What’s New? Discover the Latest Offerings

The BBC Media App Technologies created and launched the platform a few years ago. Since then, they have been updating the app steadily; the last update was on August 31, 2023. The updated version added a few extra features and took out some, leaving some users happy and others unhappy. The UK TV license funds this platform.

Also, the updated version came with a few new shows on the app. Shows like The Woman in the Wall, Starstruck, Celebrity MasterChef, Ultimate Wedding Planner, and Wolf, EastEnders. Also, there are The Bold Type, The Following Events Based on a Pack of Lies, and others. These new shows draw more viewers to the platform.

Data Safety: Ensuring Your Information Security

As a BBC iPlayer user, you can only be partially sure that your data is safe on the platform. That’s because BBC iPlayer data safety has a limit. Moreover, the data safety policy is different for every version of the app, age of users, and region. Below are the categories of data BBC iPlayer collects and what it does with them.

The Data BBC iPlayer Stores

BBC iPlayer collects certain data from you when you use the platform:

• Personal Information: BBC iPlayer collects your personal information, which includes your name, user ID, email address, residential address, and a few others. It collects this information for analytics, personalization, account management, and app functionality. Also, the app collects Personal information for advertising or marketing, account management, fraud prevention, security, and compliance. However, some personal info collections are optional.
• Location: Another piece of info the app collects is your location. It registers the approximate area you are using it from. It does this for the functionality of the platform. Some content gets suggested to you because of where you are.
• Activities: BBC iPlayer tracks your activities on it. It collects your interactions on the platform, the apps you installed, content other users generated, in-app search history, and other actions. It collects this data for analytics, the functionality of the app, advertising or marketing, and personalization. Also, it does this for developer communications and a few other reasons.
• Browsing Data: BBC iPlayer keeps the history of your web browsing activities. It records our searches, your views, and a few more. It holds this record of advertisement, personalization, and analytics. However, the collection of this data is optional.
• Device Data and Other IDs: BBC iPlayer collects data from your device and other IDs. Although it is optional, the platform needs the data for its functionality to prevent fraud, security, and personalization. This data also helps it with analytics marketing and to make people comply with its rules.

The Data BBC iPlayer Shares

Although not all, BBC iPlayer can share some of its users’ data with third parties if necessary:

• Device or other IDs: BBC iPlayer can share your device data and other IDs with third-party organizations. It does this for analytics, security, and marketing.
• Personal Information: The platform shares your personal information with third-party organizations. It shares your ID info and other information. Their reasons for this are fraud prevention, marketing, security, compliance, and personalization. It also shares the data for analytics.

Security Practices that BBC iPlayer Follows

Although BBC iPlayer collects data of its users, it doesn’t just let them out to any third party who needs it. The platform takes some security measures to keep users safe. We have listed some of them below.

• Users Can Request BBC iPlayer to Delete their Data: It has created a data-deleting feature to prove that the platform doesn’t have bad intentions with your data. You can request that it delete your data if you don’t trust it.
• BBC iPlayer Encrypts Users’ Data in Transit: Your data is safe with BBC iPlayer because it makes it encrypted even when it shares it with any third party. This ensures hackers don’t seize the opportunity to steal your data in transit.

Features: Unveiling the Capabilities of the Streaming Service

Several features on the BBC iPlayer platform make people prefer it to other competitors. We will list and explain them for you to understand them better.

• Watch Videos Online: This is a basic feature of the platform. BBC iPlayer and every other live streaming service has it. With this, you can watch any video on the platform with an internet connection.
• Download and Watch Offline: This app lets you download shows and movies to watch later. It is as easy as clicking on the download bar attached to your desired content. A platform section opens without an internet connection, where all your downloaded videos go.
• Watch Live TV: This feature is only available on some platforms. Using the BBC iPlayer app, you can watch the live BBC channel with a data connection.
• Pause or Restart Live TV Shows: Usually, live TVs aren’t meant to be paused, and you cannot restart them. But it is different for the BBC iPlayer app. You pause a live show if you are busy or continue it if you miss an action. You will not still miss other live performances when you do this.
• Pause and Resume on All Devices: BBC iPlayer lets you pause and resume videos across all your connected devices. If you watch a movie on one device, you can continue from where you stopped on another device.
• Show Info: BBC iPlayer displays written short info about a certain movie or show you want to watch. With this, you can glimpse what the film is about before watching or downloading it. It saves you the disappointment and your time.
• Discover More Movies, Shows, and TV Series: The BBC iPlayer app displays new movies, TV series, and shows on its home page. With this, you can decide what to watch.
• Add Contents to the Queue: The app has a queue section. Here, you can save movies, series, and shows to watch or download later. This is important because the app reshuffles the film it displays on the home page, so you might only see one content once. If you see one you like, save it in your Queue.

Pricing: Exploring the Cost of BBC iPlayer’s Premium Experience

BBC iPlayer is a free streaming service available only in the UK and other regions. You are in Northern Ireland, Wales, Scotland, and England, you can watch BBC iPlayer. Also, the southwest regions, southeast, northwest, west midlands, and a few more can watch BBC iPlayer at no cost. This is because the UK TV license funds the platform.

However, you can legally watch content on the platform if you are in its geo-restricted countries or regions. You must pay a TV license fee of £157.50 annually because they don’t accept monthly payments and use a VPN to access the service there.

Content: Navigating the Rich Offerings of the Streaming Service

BBC iPlayer has various content, ranging from movies to TV series, shows, news, live TV, and more. Even if the platform is free, you can watch content in 4K resolution, but only on some content. The standard resolution for BBC iPlayer content is 720p.

The platform operates at a connection speed of h.264 with a bitrate of 5Mbps. If your connection does not allow it, the platform will reduce to 3.2Mbps. The audio quality of the content on BBC iPlayer is standard. The platform operates with a 128kbps audio quality.

Supported Platform and Devices: Where You Can Enjoy BBC iPlayer

Supported Platforms

BBC iPlayer has a web version and an app version. The only advantage the web version has over the app version is that it saves space. However, the app version has many advantages over the web. You cannot find features like ‘Downloads’ and a few others on the web, but they are on the software.

Supported Devices

BBC iPlayer doesn’t work on every device in the world today. Here are some of the devices you can use it on:

• Desktop Devices: It might interest you that you can watch BBC iPlayer with your desktop devices. But it only works on Mac OS 10.10 and later models, Linux, and Windows 7 and above. You can either cast it on your computer or download it. To download the platform, search for it on your computer web browser, open the page, and find the download bar. Click on it, let it install, then open and use it.
• Set-top Boxes: The set-top boxes are another set of devices to watch BBC iPlayer content. They are Fire TV, Android TV, Roku, AppleTV, smart TVs, and many more. These sets of devices usually come with the BBC iPlayer built-in. If yours doesn’t have it, there is a way to get it on the device.
• Mobile Devices: BBC iPlayer supports most mobile devices, from smartphones to tablets. It supports Android Devices, but the device has to be from Android version 5.0 and above.
  Also, the platform supports iOS devices from version 7 and above and Windows from version 10 and above. It might interest you that it supports Blackberry 10 for whoever still has it.

Pros and Cons: Weighing its Benefits and Limitations

The New BBC iPlayer has disadvantages as much as it has advantages. Let us delve into them:

VPN and BBC iPlayer: Unlocking Global Content Safely and Securely

Pay for a TV license is one of many ways to watch content on BBC iPlayer, even if it is the only legal way. The other way you can watch content on BBC iPlayer is through VPNs. VPNs can make you access the internet anonymously. It hides your IP address from hackers and trackers when you are online.

It can also make your IP address look like it is in any country. So, your device will work and get the benefits exclusively for such countries. Using VPN with BBC iPlayer means you can access the services of the streaming platform and not pay for it.

To watch content on BBC iPlayer, subscribe to a premium VPN service like Ivacy VPN. It allows you to access anything you want from anywhere. It will make a secure tunnel for your data flow so no one can track, record, or monitor your online activities.

How Does BBC iPlayer Compare with Top Live Streaming Services

Exploring Alternatives: Other Streaming Services for Your Viewing Pleasure

BBC iPlayer is the best option for many viewers who prefer free streaming, but if you want an extensive content library, you would want to subscribe to a paid streaming service. We have reviewed some other streaming services that can fulfill your streaming needs. You can go through these detailed reviews and make your choice:

• Netflix Review 2023 – Must Know Facts About the Service
• Apple TV+ or Netflix: Which One Takes the Crown in 2023?
• Paramount+ Review 2023 – The Best Streaming Service for Movie Buffs?
• HBO Max Review 2023: Is It Worth the Subscription?
• Discovery+ Review 2023 – A Closer Look at the Streaming Service

Verdict: Is BBC iPlayer Worth It?

The New BBC iPlayer has only been around for a few months. It still has nearly the same features as the old one, with a few upgrades, but some are unstable. Features like Queue, forward, and rewind are not stable.

However, the new one has a few advantages: its pictures are standard HD. You can use the BBC iPlayer on mobile devices, desktops, websites, and set-top boxes. This streaming service has an extensive content library, but they are exclusively for the UK population.

Frequently Asked Questions

Mahrukh Rubab Streaming Expert

Mahrukh Rubab Streaming Expert

Mahrukh is a talented streaming author who has contributed to quality sites in the niche, such as NetflixSavvy, providing captivating content that illuminates the world of streaming entertainment with a great deal of knowledge and expertise.

View all posts by Mahrukh Rubab