iPlayer is in the mood for some experimenting. Last month the BBC catch-up service announced plans to premiere all its scripted comedy online seven days before its broadcast date, kicking off with Bad Education which you can watch online before the end of August. The new initiative follows on from the success of Comedy Feeds – a batch of pilot shows exclusive to BBC iPlayer with eight one-off episodes currently waiting there, ready for you to view.


But the really interesting news is the additional 40 hours of programming iPlayer is planning to premiere online – a string of shows from all BBC channels that include Peter Kay’s new sitcom, Car Share. RadioTimes.com has learnt that the team at iPlayer are planning to try out different lead times on their content – with availability ranging from a few hours before broadcast to entire series being uploaded ahead of their air dates.

The move simulates the success of the likes of Netflix and Blinkbox which upload seasons all in one go, offering users the chance to binge on their favourite programmes.

While further details are yet to be announced, BBC iPlayer is expected to experiment with the different formats in the coming months in order to establish the most popular user trends.


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