Nintendo & BBC Bring iPlayer To Wii News

Demonstrating its ability to evolve Wii and steal a march on its opponents in the home entertainment stakes, Nintendo and the BBC today announced an agreement that will see the British public broadcaster's iPlayer available on UK Wii's.

Making the announcement during a keynote speech at the annual MipTV-Milla conference in Cannes, Erik Huggers, the BBC's Group Controller for Future Media and Technology, said:

"Working with Nintendo marks another exciting milestone for BBC iPlayer. It underlines our commitment to reaching new audiences by making BBC iPlayer available on as many platforms as possible. The BBC's catch-up TV service can now be accessed on an increasing number of different platforms - from the web and portable devices to gaming consoles. It will shortly be available on TV."

The iPlayer allows you to catch up on the last week's programmes from BBC channels, essentially bringing a vast wealth of TV content to a format that was never considered to be in the home entertainment race.

David Yarnton, General Manager, Nintendo UK, added: "This exciting alliance with the BBC is yet another way in which Nintendo is looking to broaden the market for its products by offering compelling and relevant content to families. BBC iPlayer on Wii will offer Wii owners another reason to turn their console on everyday and adds to the already established non gaming content on Wii that includes news and weather channels and an internet browser."

Nintendo has yet to confirm a timeline for the iPlayer, however once the service is live a message will be sent to all UK Wii owners connected to the internet to notify them about the availability. The service will then be accessible through the Wii's Internet Channel.