Virgin Media and the BBC have signed a new deal that will bring next-generation BBC TV services to the Virgin Media TiVo Service.
The BBC and Virgin Media will now begin to develop new applications and user experiences for TiVo homes which will pave the way for Virgin Media customers to gain access to the BBC’s coverage of next year’s major sporting events via a brand new Red Button experience.
The yet-to-come BBC Sport app will build on the "enhanced Red Button" services to bring next-generation viewing experiences to connected TVs and the new app will bring together all the live streams from the BBC’s existing Red Button service, video streams on-demand and additional content from BBC Online.
The BBC Sport app will be placed alongside the BBC’s existing BBC News and BBC iPlayer apps.
The companies together has already delivered full integration of BBC iPlayer into Virgin Media’s TiVo Service. With the openness and flexibility of the TiVo platform , BBC catch-up programmes are now even easier to access through the search, menus, and EPG.
BBC News app brings together the best of BBC News on TV and online in an on-demand service, accessible via the Red Button and the Virgin Media TiVo ‘Apps and Games’ section and it will launch on Virgin Media TiVo.
BBC Future Media Business Development controller Jane Weedon said BBC iPlayer service now available on more than 300 different internet-connected TV devices, the BBC has successfully taken catch-up TV beyond the PC and into the living room.
"Having partnered with Virgin Media to bring BBC iPlayer to TV back in 2008, we have since brought a vastly-improved, fully-integrated experience of BBC iPlayer to Virgin Media’s TiVo Service. With the addition of the BBC News app and enhanced BBC Sport services – all accessible via the Red Button – we plan to build on this partnership and continue to innovate in connected TV through 2012," said Weedon.
Virgin Media Digital Entertainment executive director Cindy Rose said the TiVo service offers a whole world of catch-up, on demand, HD, 3D and live TV content and they are delighted to be adding the BBC’s next generation News and Sport services to the line-up.
"2012 promises to be an unforgettable year for UK viewers and our customers can look forward to every minute of it. We’re pleased to be partnering with the BBC to make even more of their content available on what is the UK’s most advanced TV platform," said Rose.
