BBC iPlayer experience on Virgin Media and BT Vision

The standard BBC iPlayer is now being made available on Virgin Media, BT Vision and other network connected television devices and displays. That sounds like good news for viewers, but the dedicated BBC iPlayer user interface is now disconnected from these platforms. Consequently the user experience on the new Virgin Media TiVo digital video recorder is completely broken when it comes to viewing BBC programmes on demand.

The Virgin Media cable television platform currently accounts for around a fifth of all television requests for the BBC iPlayer. A year ago it represented nearly a third of requests, but other online usage has more than doubled over that period. Until very recently, the BBCi Player branded service on Virgin Media was delivered only as a conventional video-on-demand through a rather clunky menu system.