Freesat has confirmed that the ITV Player catch-up TV service will join the BBC iPlayer on the free-to-use satellite platform early next year.
A beta version of the BBC iPlayer is due to begin for a select group of ‘a few hundred’ Freesat HD users, including journalists, from 7th December. The company says that it hopes to open out the service to more users in time for Christmas.
If the beta trial is successful, Freesat customers should be able to tap into over 450 hours of programming each week over the Christmas period, including a Dr Who Christmas Special and a new animated version of kids classic The Gruffalo, as well as staples like Strictly Come Dancing, Top Gear, EastEnders, Life and Gavin and Stacey.
Freesat promises there’ll be no need for any adjustments to users’ Freesat boxes, they’ll simply need to connect it to their broadband connection via an Ethernet cable. A spokesman said viewers will however need an actual broadband speed of at least 1Mbps or 2Mbps to watch in HD.
BBC iPlayer will join more than 140 channels already available on Freesat alongside HD from the BBC and ITV.