BBC launches iPlayer Radio with iPhone but no Android app

The BBC has launched iPlayer Radio, a new site and app for accessing the BBC’s live and catchup radio content.

The move will see audio content removed from the existing TV-oriented iPlayer apps and interfaces, with users required to use the new portals instead.

The new UK-only app, which you can see in action here, is launching initially for iPhone with an Android version to follow, though no other smartphone apps such as for BlackBerry of Windows Phone, are in development yet. A standard worldwide web interface is also available at bbc.co.uk/radio, where you can view videos, find catchup content or set reminders for your favourite shows.

The service doesn’t as yet support offline listening so an Internet connection will be required at all times.

“BBC iPlayer Radio is the platform on which we will develop radio stations as fully multimedia brands so that as well as listen, audiences will be able to watch, share and engage with BBC radio,” said Mark Friend, controller of multiplatform and interactive for the BBC Audio & Music division.

“Our next steps will be to make live radio more interactive, make it easier for people to enjoy the BBC’s vast audio archive and strengthen radio’s position as the number one place for discovering music in the UK.”

The new service comes into competition with the recently launched and Radioplayer app, a joint venture between the BBC and commercial broadcasters that aims to provide a consistent look and feel to online radio.

The iPlayer overhaul is in part a response to the rapid increase in mobile and tablet listening over the last 12 months, with iPlayer requests for radio having increased by 56% to 2.8m on mobile and 300% on tablets.

Excited by the new iPlayer Radio or have you moved on from prescribed listening? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

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