So you can now stream TV programs directly to your PC, PS3, Wii and even your mobile phone to watch whenever you like thanks to the BBC iPlayer program, so what about Microsoft’s big white box ‘o joy?  Well The Telegraph are reporting that the deal between MS and the BBC has been put on hold indefinitely due to Microsoft refusing to make the service free to all users, instead wanting the feature to become another incentive to sign up to an Xbox Live Gold subscription.

“This does not fit with the BBC’s model and Microsoft will not budge at the moment. It is really frustrating for those involved on the BBC side who want to make sure iPlayer is rolled out on as many popular entertainment platforms as possible,” they added. The BBC cannot charge the British public for access to the iPlayer as it is already included in the licence fee This situation is a marked contrast to the deals the BBC already has in place with the other two home games consoles. Nintendo’s Wii and Sony’s PlayStation 3 both offer free access to the BBC iPlayer. Earlier this month the BBC recently relaunched its service on the Wii and now offers its own dedicated iPlayer channel.

A BBC spokesman said: “BBC iPlayer has been extremely successful on PS3 and we recently re-launched on Nintendo Wii, from which the public response has been fantastic. People clearly want the BBC iPlayer on their gaming consoles, and we don’t think Xbox users are any different, so we’ve had discussions with Microsoft about bringing the service to the platform.”

It’s not all bad news for UK Xbox owners however, as the word on the grapevine is that MS are working on a deal to bring 4OD, Channel 4’s answer to the iPlayer, to the system.

(Source)

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