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BBC viewers 'disappointed' after decision to remove popular iPlayer feature

Home> Entertainment> TV

Updated 12:21 13 Feb 2024 GMTPublished 12:17 13 Feb 2024 GMT

BBC viewers 'disappointed' after decision to remove popular iPlayer feature

There's a major change for many BBC iPlayer users

Jess Battison

Jess Battison

Featured Image Credit: Carl Court/Getty Images/BBC

Topics: TV and Film, BBC

Jess Battison
Jess Battison

Jess is a Senior Journalist with a love of all things pop culture. Her main interests include asking everyone in the office what they're having for tea, waiting for a new series of The Traitors and losing her voice at a Beyoncé concert. She graduated with a first in Journalism from City, University of London in 2021.

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@jessbattison_

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The BBC has announced a big change to its iPlayer streaming service, and many viewers aren't happy.

If you're planning on catching up on The Apprentice, Dragons' Den or the second series of Kin on the train, that's about to get a little bit more difficult.

The change might also impact your ability to watch Gavin and Stacey, which is said to be returning for a brand new special, as well as the likes of Time and The Traitors.

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Viewers are slamming the 'terrible decision'. Some called it 'appalling' as they asked what they were 'paying for'.

BBC iPlayer are changing the feature.
Carl Court/Getty Images

So, BBC is phasing out the iPlayer Downloads feature for PCs and Macs in the following weeks, meaning you won’t be able to download episodes of Trigger Point for a screen bigger than your phone or tablet.

From 11 March, you’ll no longer be able to use the download feature on desktop, where users have to download a separate app to download shows from the website.

This differs from our phones and tablets where we can do it all on the app - and will still be able to. And the change is due to a reported increase in people using those instead of laptops to watch their shows.

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A BBC spokesperson told LADbible: “We have made the difficult decision to close the ‘Desktop Downloads’ app for BBC iPlayer, due to the low number of people using it and the cost required to keep it going.

"This does not affect downloads on the BBC iPlayer mobile or tablet apps and viewers can continue to stream programmes on BBC iPlayer on their PCs and Macs.”

Kin is one of the many popular shows on BBC iPlayer.
RTÉ

In a statement shared by the Mirror, BBC explained: “We have started the process of closing the Desktop Downloads App. Downloading programmes from a computer or laptop will no longer be available from Monday, March 11 but you can still watch your existing downloads until Monday 8 April 2024.”

It also added: “You can also still download your favourite programmes on your mobile device, and add programmes to your Watchlist to return later.”

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But a lot of iPlayer users are disappointed with this upcoming change, as they slam it as a ‘terrible decision’ on X.

Many call it a ‘very bad move’ and rather ‘odd’. Others used it as an opportunity to slate the TV license fee as they asked: “Then what exactly are we paying for?”

Another called it an ‘appalling decision’, while one significantly less annoyed viewer said: “To be fair, I thought that had ended years ago.”

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