Hi, I’m Navin Nair, a Business Analyst in the BBC iPlayer team. Almost exactly a year ago, we brought BBC iPlayer to Windows Phone 8 devices for the first time. Today I’m pleased to announce a major update to the app bringing the benefits of the new BBC iPlayer to Windows Phone 8 devices, making it easier to catch up on your favourite programmes as well as discover new content. You can read more about the new BBC iPlayer here, but in this post I’m going to focus on the features which are making their debut on Windows Phone 8. First, we’ve overhauled the viewing experience, switching to an adaptive bitrate media player. This means those of you with poorer internet connections will still be able to watch content while those with faster connections will get the best playback quality available. You can also watch programmes with subtitles, delivering on the BBC’s commitment to accessible content for all. But wait, there’s more! We’ve also added live TV, so you can keep up with any BBC channel on the go.

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As well as new features, we’ve put a lot of effort into improving the general app experience. This update is far more stable and is expected to work with a wider range of Windows Phones. We know this was one of the main gripes with the original app and we’re keen to do more for a steadily growing user base. We would love to add features like downloads once the market share increases to the point we can justify the additional development and infrastructure costs.