BBC iPlayer Will Launch Internationally For A "Small Number Of Dollars Per Month"

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We have to admit, we are fairly interested in the BBC iPlayer subscription that is expected to come available on an international basis this year. Of course, being interested is quite a bit different from being willing to pay, but that being said, things are looking as if they will work out nicely.

In other words, in order for any subscription service to be a success, it must be a value that is determined to be fair by potential users. And while that should almost go without saying, it is refreshing to see that the BBC is working hard to have their International iPlayer subscription come in at a fair price. Mark Thompson was recently speaking at the FT Digital Media & Broadcasting conference which took place in London and was noted as saying that while they are still “exploring” the “most important thing is the consumer pricing is right.”

And of course, that statement may be especially important here as the iPlayer subscription will give users outside of the UK direct access to BBC shows. And by direct, we are referring to paying the subscription and getting the content directly from the BBC as opposed to by way of another cable operator who could potentially rebrand or reformat content.

But back to the monthly subscription price, while nothing has been officially announced just yet, Thompson did note that it would be “a small number of dollars per month, definitely fewer than 10”. In other words, maybe $9.99 per month, though it would be nice to see it come available for $7.99, which would offer direct competition with Hulu Plus pricing.

With that, the iPad service is still expected to launch this year. And while we wait for the international roll-out, we should remind that the Android and iPad iPlayer app came available for those in the UK back in February.