The BBC will forge closer links with social networking firms this week when it unveils a new version of its catch-up television service iPlayer that integrates with Facebook and Twitter.
The corporation is trying to strike a more conciliatory tone over its digital expansion plans after coming under fire from commercial rivals, which accuse it of attempting to colonise the web.
The BBC is proposing to close or merge half of its sites by 2012 and cut its £135m online budget by 25%. But the launch of a range of iPhone applications has been held up by the BBC Trust after the complaints.
The iPlayer remains central to the BBC’s digital push, however. There were 118m viewer and listener requests to the service in March, including 84m to watch television programmes. The new version will let users share what they are watching with Facebook friends or comment via Twitter.
“We want to do fewer things even better,” said Erik Huggers, the BBC’s director of future media and technology. He added that the new iPlayer would be more “simple, personal and connected”. “We must no longer try to do everything online but focus on delivering genuinely world-class services like the BBC iPlayer.”
Last week Project Canvas, a BBC-led plan to bring internet television to the masses, avoided an Office of Fair Trading investigation despite being attacked by BSkyB and Virgin Media. By combining Freeview with a broadband connection, catch-up services such as iPlayer and ITV Player will be more widely available on television sets.
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