UK’s ITV Player arrives on Freesat

UK TV channel ITV is making its online video-on-demand service available to view on Freesat.

ITV Player was launched in 2008, allowing viewers to watch programmes from across ITV1, ITV2, ITV3 and ITV4 online. The service was added to BT Vision’s TV Replay service in late 2008, and the deal was the broadcaster’s first foray into partnering with VOD operators. And we reported back in December that ITV Player was to be made available on PlayStation 3 on the PlayStation Network.

Freesat was launched as a joint venture by ITV and BBC in May 2007, and it was designed as a satellite alternative to Freeview on digital terrestrial TV.

Pocket Lint reports that ITV Player is now available on Freesat to viewers with a Humax Foxsat-HD box, and programmes can now be accessed directly through the electronic programming guide (EPG), having previously been accessible with a beta code.

Freesat has 1.5m customers across the UK, with around 1,000 hours of programmes available covering the previous seven days. Robin Pembrooke, managing director of ITV online and on-demand, said:

“It’s another important step in our mission to give audiences access to our content when and where they choose to view it whilst improving the underlying technology and user experience across the board.”