BBC iPlayer to launch in Western Europe as iPad app

BBC iPlayer to launch in Western Europe as iPad app – the former BBC Vision director now working at the corporation's commercial arm, BBC Worldwide, as its president of worldwide networks and global iPlayer – will tell the Banff World Television Festival on Tuesday that the international version of the online video player will be "a different proposition" from its British equivalent, which showcases recent catch-up content only.

Even Mark Thompson, the BBC director general, has privately wondered how much a voluntary licence fee paid by foreign viewers could raise.

As well as pushing out the iPlayer globally, she is aiming to launch more BBC channels overseas – mirroring the model pioneered by the likes of Viacom's MTV over the past 20 years.

At the same time, she is involved in commissioning BBC programming with an international appeal to fill the international channels' schedules.

he BBC is set to makes it iPlayer service available to Western Europeans with an iPad for a monthly subscription fee later this summer.

President of global iPlayer, Jana Bennett, is set to describe the European iPlayer as "a different proposition" from the UK's catch-up service, offering a curated mix of old and new BBC programmes. 

BBC iPlayer to be subscription based iPad app in Western Europe

The BBC is set to make the BBC iPlayer service available to a Western European market with the catch-up service to launch as a pay monthly subscription based iPad app.