iLounge

New reports suggest that the BBC may soon offer its content through iTunes, and may also be working on a version of its iPlayer for the Apple TV. Citing a TV industry source, The Register is reporting that BBC Worldwide will soon announce plans to offer its programming on the iTunes Store. The source claims that BBC Worldwide digital media director Simon Danker has contacted third party production partners to let them know about the new distribution channel. It is unclear whether the BBC content would be available internationally, or exclusively through the UK store.

A separate posting by Ashley Highfield, Director of BBC Future Media and Technology, suggests that the BBC may be planning to offer a version of its iPlayer IP-based on-demand television service through the Apple TV. Speaking about Apple CEO Steve Jobs’ announcement of new Apple TV software, Highfield writes, “this, coupled with Apple’s (long anticipated) move to a rental model, means that we can look to getting BBC iPlayer onto this platform too, as we should be able to use the rental functionality to allow our programmes to be downloaded, free, but retained for a time window, and then erased, as our rightsholders currently insist.”