Roku bolsters its UK media-streaming offering with BBC iPlayer

Roku, one of the US’s leading TV-streaming platforms, has confirmed that it’s adding BBC iPlayer to its UK media offering, one month after it made its players available in Europe for the first time.

Within Europe, Roku’s players are currently only available to buy in the United Kingdom and Ireland, and consumers can choose from two Roku models – the Roku LT and the Roku 2 XS. They are available for GBP 49.99 and GBP 99.99 respectively, and you can find retailers that stock the devices here.

Roku currently features more than 40 channels in the UK/Ireland, including on-demand films and programmes from Netflix and Crackle (UK only); live and on-demand sports from MLB.TV and Ultimate Fighting Championship organisation. It’s also possible to play Angry Birds, an integration we first reported when it launched on Roku last June.

Since launching in 2008, Roku has delivered streaming services to approximately 2.5 million players, and the addition of iPlayer means that Roku’s UK customers can watch the BBC programmes on catch-up directly from their TV sets, bypassing the need for a PC.

“Roku recognizes the importance of region-specific programmes so today we are excited to announce the addition of BBC iPlayer to our platform,” says Clive Hudson, vice president and general manager for Europe at Roku. “This is among the first of many significant content partnerships for Roku in Europe and we look forward to making additional announcements in the coming weeks.”