wii
The BBC Explains Why The BBC Went With Wii
Posted by Michael McWhertor at 11:03 AM on April 10, 2008
The BBC announced earlier today, along with Nintendo, that the British broadcaster's iPlayer service has been tailored for Wii Internet Channel users. BBC dot.life blogger Darren Waters poses the question, "Why didn't it come to the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3?" Well, Waters writes, it's due to the assertion that Sony and Microsoft were less flexible, with BBC's Erik Huggers saying the corporations "want control of the look, the feel and the experience; they want it done within their shop, and their shop only."
Since the whole replay service is web-based, it will take some extra effort for Microsoft to get on board, but Waters theorises that Sony adding iPlayer support to its PS3 browser is "almost inevitable". It doesn't mean much to those outside of the UK, but we certainly hope that the competition for services like the BBC's makes the suits hop to.
Wii becomes home of online video [BBC News dot.life - thanks, Ricardo!]

Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
There are currently no AU comments for this post.
DreamcastRIP
Posted 11:30 AM 10/4/08
@Kenofthedead: "Oh Auntie Beeb, do stop lying to yourself. We all know the real reason you went Wii is because it's what the Queen uses."
Elton John has Wii?
DreamcastRIP
Weirdwolf
Posted 11:28 AM 10/4/08
@Jekht:
Jehkt are you sure about the no TV license thing? I don't have one,£130 odd quid a year is to expensive for me to afford when I would only watch the news/politics programmes. I would love to be able to watch the sky at night again.
All the beeb need to do now is make their radio player use something other than bloody real player or the windows media player codec.
Weirdwolf
IntelSilver
Posted 11:27 AM 10/4/08
@sandwiches: fail
IntelSilver
mizzle
Posted 11:24 AM 10/4/08
@sandwiches: wow.... just wow.
So Japan gets it's excellent tv channel and England gets this BBC channel. Whats NOA gonna do to counter all this? Reggie needs to call Comcast.
mizzle
Ruglia
Posted 11:24 AM 10/4/08
@sandwiches: I don't know what to say, but I feel I should say something.
Ruglia
excel_excel
Posted 11:16 AM 10/4/08
@dsmx: ahh that sucks, ah well....
excel_excel
Kenofthedead
Posted 11:16 AM 10/4/08
Oh Auntie Beeb, do stop lying to yourself. We all know the real reason you went Wii is because it's what the Queen uses.
It's okay to admit you want to hear her say she is amused.
Kenofthedead
sandwiches
Posted 11:14 AM 10/4/08
The real reason the BBC went with the Wii:
"Bii Bii Cii"
That's right.. I went there.
sandwiches
dsmx
Posted 11:07 AM 10/4/08
Nope you can't watch the iplayer on the ps3 browser as the flash version on the ps3 browser isn't the latest one.
dsmx
excel_excel
Posted 11:05 AM 10/4/08
*scratch, scratch*
couldn't you watch it on the PS3 browser??
anyway BBC rocks. No ads, and the english version of the Apprentice which is one of the greatest shows ever
excel_excel
Jekht
Posted 11:01 AM 10/4/08
@cash: Touche...
Although I always do feel our chart is more heavily tilted to the Wii + we often have to cash out £40 for a Wii game instore. That requires a hardcore nation ;P
Jekht
Jekht
Posted 10:57 AM 10/4/08
@sUKi: Depends what quality it transmits at, but if it's close to broadcast quality, then getting to watch you want, when you want with no tv license (just checked the bbc website), on a tv, is a pretty sweet deal. + then i can surf at the same time as watching :p
Jekht
cash
Posted 10:55 AM 10/4/08
@Jekht:
What nation ISN'T?
cash
Jekht
Posted 10:55 AM 10/4/08
Yep, in the UK the nation is obsessed with the wii... It's the safe family option.
Jekht
tnx3
Posted 10:54 AM 10/4/08
Internet is a huge place, but the filtered internet and controlled services of consoles is a different story.
If BBC has a Wii channel for it or something similar to it on 360 and PS3 it'll gain quite a few viewers.
tnx3
Moonshadow101
Posted 10:52 AM 10/4/08
@sUKi: Novelty.
Moonshadow101
sUKi
Posted 10:49 AM 10/4/08
@mizzle:
Or use a PC. I don't get.
sUKi
mizzle
Posted 10:47 AM 10/4/08
Or because Wii is actually selling. Take your pick.
mizzle
Weirdwolf
Posted 12:04 PM 10/4/08
@Jekht:
Oh no sarcasm at all I assure you. The license laws are so buggered up that even the chap they sent round to verify I couldn't watch TV didn't have an answer.
I know that the beeb shows Match of the Day on saturday night but I'm not sure whether the internet broadcast on the sportsd page is simultaneous or not as it doesn't say.
I occasionally watch Chinese TV over the net to improve my Mandarin, I've often wondered if I watched the coverage of the premier league matches they have on is breaking the law.
Weirdwolf
SG79
Posted 12:01 PM 10/4/08
@mizzle:
Or the more sound and reasonable reason listed in this post, especially given the 360's current online multimedia functions (downloads anyway).
@dsmx:
Sad yeah, especially with Sony's reluctance to release updates every once in a while.
SG79
Jekht
Posted 11:49 AM 10/4/08
@Weirdwolf: I sensed sarcasm, but anyways!
[www.bbc.co.uk]
That's my source. Could be out of date, but I don't think the laws have changed since. Unfortunately you can't watch live streamed content without a tv license, so things like news channels wouldn't be accessible.
Jekht
globones
Posted 1:02 PM 10/4/08
Their excuse seems rather picky just so they can desing their OWN store.
globones
mariospants
Posted 1:32 PM 10/4/08
You do realize that us North Americans can't make use of this, right? Gotta wait till the new Doctor Who hits the bittorrents... *sigh*
mariospants
the_chosen_one
Posted 1:27 PM 10/4/08
bah, you're way off the mark.
The reason the 360 wont have it is:
a. MS would want to use their VMP
b. PS3 and Wii already have a web browser...
BBC already have something in place with microsoft to offer BBC programs for download via the VMP. But no firm details have been released
@valleyshrew:
You can stream the iplayer of the net now. No need to install anything. It uses flash. As will 4od, which is due out of beta, in the next couple of months. So you don't need to install anything (oh and if you have a 360, use the BBC iplayer download manager and stream it across to the 360...
the_chosen_one
valleyshrew
Posted 1:20 PM 10/4/08
This is actually a really important step, most people have tv's rather than pc's set up for watching video. I'm sick of watching shows on my small 20" monitor with cheap speakers when I have a 36" tv across the room.
Since sony have allowed folding@home, i don't think it's unthinkable that they might allow other installed software such as iplayer and 4od. I don't think microsoft would allow that but I think the wii is the worst of the 3 for this to happen to as it's not in any way a media center, doesn't stream videos from other devices or play dvds even afaik. I couldn't be bothered to use it on the wii, but I would definitely use it on the 360 or ps3. You actually have to buy the wii browser, what a joke.
valleyshrew
Killer6
Posted 1:03 PM 10/4/08
I never surf the web on my Wii. 480p resolution. No thanks
Killer6
dairyking
Posted 12:35 PM 10/4/08
Nice move. Considering the Wii's popularity in England, I would have done the same thing.
dairyking
Klopfer123
Posted 3:59 PM 10/4/08
Hopefully they'll get done finishing the mac/linux version of iPlayer before this is released. The web streams are ok, but I'd rather have a download and stream it to my TV tbh.
Klopfer123
mondog
Posted 6:01 PM 10/4/08
The BBC has always championed novelty toys, thinking they are the next big thing. 99% of the time there game related facts are wrong anyway so its no shock they claim the Wii is the biggest selling console even though its not got a shade on PS2.
mondog
cubabit
Posted 6:13 PM 10/4/08
@Jekht:
But of course, if you own a TV then you need a license. Simple as that.
cubabit
GMC
Posted 6:41 PM 10/4/08
wii has sold loads, its the one platform thats underneath most adult/older peoples tvs in the living room.
Its a no brainer!
Even though ive got the pc connected to the tv as well, i watched some stuff on the wii last night. it was blocky, but a good start - i would rather use it than the pc as i find that the pc version jumps out of fullscreen mode whenever i start surfing on my monitor.
PS3 one to follow please - if its running in-browser then it must be a piece of cake to get it running. Sort it out, suits!
GMC
unwesen
Posted 6:35 PM 10/4/08
@Jekht: I can't say the quality is decent. It's close to youtubish, in my opinion.
@sUKi: Doesn't run on Mac, unfortunately, or didn't the last time I checked. So the Wii is a better option for me at least.
unwesen
Weirdwolf
Posted 7:22 PM 10/4/08
@cubabit:
It's not as simple as that, my girlfriend has a wii and big ass HD T.V. that she keeps at my house along with her DVD player.
As long as you can prove to the T.V. licensing board that you cannot receive live broadcast,(they send someone around to check,) you can have a T.V. for D.V.D.'s, games etc.
Weirdwolf
PenguinJim
Posted 8:18 PM 10/4/08
@mondog: The Wii IS the biggest selling console at the moment. The PS2 is number three. :D
PenguinJim
cdammers
Posted 9:01 PM 10/4/08
"So you don't need to install anything (oh and if you have a 360, use the BBC iplayer download manager and stream it across to the 360... "
Does this definitely work? I was going to post that it couldn't be hard for the Beeb to make it so you could stream it to a 360 via Media Centre. So you already can?
cdammers
BradOFarrell
Posted 10:02 PM 10/4/08
@Moonshadow101:
If you actually read the article, he talked about how it's easier for them to stream the shit onto devices than PCs because they don't have to worry about copy protection.
BradOFarrell
Contra666
Posted 11:08 PM 10/4/08
You can watch BBC iPlayer and 4OD content on the Xbox 360 using both Media Center and/or the dashboard's own media sharing features.
You get better quality and don't have to worry about using internet bandwidth.
Contra666
mizzle
Posted 3:16 AM 11/4/08
@SG79: It's unreasonable to think that sales have something to do with Wii getting titles or features over 360 or PS3?
I think the runaway success of the Wii has plenty to do with it. Yes, other factors do apply, but if Wii was selling at GCN levels you really think they wouldve gone with it?
mizzle
Josh*
Posted 10:04 PM 11/4/08
@unwesen: Well, when did you last "check"? because it even runs on a freakin' iPod touch! you may want to try again.
Josh*
Capt_Birdseye
Posted 4:32 AM 16/4/08
Its cose its more of a socialble gaming machine my family loves the thing and even i enjoy playing it even thou i love my shitbox but i think the reasons behind bbc was due to the amount of family getting together and watching something so the BBC iplayer is hugly i good idea for our wiiy.
Capt_Birdseye