By Dan Moren

October 29, 2015 7:43 AM PT

BBC iPlayer coming to the Apple TV

Note: This story has not been updated for several years.

Tweeteth the Beeb:

BBC iPlayer will be coming to the new Apple TV in the coming months…

— BBC iPlayer (@BBCiPlayer) October 29, 2015

About time. More to the point, a few months back, the BBC also said that it would be rolling out a U.S. version of iPlayer sometime in 2016. The caveat: it probably won’t include BBC shows that already have American homes, such as Dr. Who.

There are a number of British shows that I enjoy, most of which are difficult to find in the U.S.—and an increasing number of which come from BBC’s competitors, like ITV—but we still seem stuck in a 20th century mentality when it comes to international borders. There are licensing restrictions, sure enough, but with so much television shifting to an online medium—the app future of TV, as Tim Cook puts it—it seems anachronistic that we should be separated by mere borders.¹

[Dan Moren is the East Coast Bureau Chief of Six Colors, as well as an author, podcaster, and two-time Jeopardy! champion. You can find him on Mastodon at @dmoren@zeppelin.flights or reach him by email at dan@sixcolors.com. His next novel, the sci-fi adventure Eternity's Tomb, will be released in November 2026.]

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