We took a first look at the version of the BBC iPlayer Radio available in Germany. The app is available for free in the AppStore for iPhone and iPad as well as in the Google Play Store.
The British broadcaster BBC is now offering its smartphone app iPlayer outside the UK as well. In Germany, the free application for iOS and Android is now available in Apple’s AppStore and the Google Play Store. We took a look at the offer with the Apple iPhone 6S Plus.
The same iPlayer version as in Great Britain is not available to interested parties abroad. For example, the television programs of the British public broadcaster are not sufficient in Germany for copyright reasons. On the other hand, the radio offering is quite extensive.
BBC World Service as an entry point
The World Service, one of the most renowned news and information channels in the world, serves as the gateway to the international version of the BBC iPlayer. While the program had already attracted numerous listeners all over the world decades ago via short and medium wave, the station can now also be received via the Internet, while the classic distribution channels are becoming increasingly less important.
Stations broadcasting nationwide in Great Britain, such as the pop wave BBC Radio 1, can also be found in the iPlayer, as can local and regional radio waves. The nationwide stations and some regional programs are directly accessible from the app’s homepage. Further local stations can be added to the virtual scale of the app.
All BBC radio stations in one appAll BBC radio stations in one app Comprehensive accompanying information is provided for each station. A program scheme enriched with photos can also be found. Many programmes can also be listened to at a later date. Furthermore, all BBC podcasts can be found in the iPlayer. These can not only be streamed, but also stored locally on the smartphone for offline listening. A further feature is the possibility of selecting the desired programmes on the basis of their genre, such as entertainment, news or sport. Editorially prepared program highlights are displayed on an overview page.
Livestreams in MP3 with 128 kBit/s
For downloads, the iPlayer also offers the possibility to select different quality levels in the settings menu. This feature is missing for the livestreams. For example, the app usually accesses the MP3 streams of the respective radio station, which are distributed at 128 kBit/s. The MP3 streams can be selected from the menu for the settings. This means that around 55 MB of data is transmitted every hour when the livestreams are accessed.