Wii beats rivals to BBC online TV service

PRLog (Press Release) – Jul 01, 2008 – Following an announcement this week that Wii owners will soon be able to access BBC's iPlayer, it has emerged that the console trumped its two main rivals.

Earlier this week, the BBC revealed a partnership with Nintendo that will see the Wii support the company's online TV system. However a spokesman for the broadcaster has now announced that a deluge of demands were the reason Sony and Microsoft lost out.

Digital Spy reports that Erik Huggers, BBC head of future media and technology, has stated that both companies had registered interest in iPlayer support for their respective PlayStation and Xbox consoles, but this would eventually fall through.

"If you want to get [iPlayer] on the PlayStation or Xbox, they want control of the look, the feel and the experience - they want it done within their shop and their shop only," the site claims Mr Huggers said.

Earlier in the week, the BBC announced that users of Nintendo's popular Wii gaming console would have access to an early version of the iPlayer service through the system, but added "more polished software" would follow.


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