BBC iPlayer and ITV Hub mysteriously disappear from Nvidia Shield TV devices

Damien Wilde | Nov 12 2019 - 5:07 am PT

The BBC iPlayer and ITV Hub apps have mysteriously disappeared from Nvidia Shield TV devices, with users unable to re-download the apps from the Google Play Store.

One of the oldest streaming services on the web, BBC iPlayer was at the very forefront of online content streaming — and actually turns 12 next month. The BBC recently signed a deal with ITV to create new joint streaming service BritBox, which will offer access to BBC and ITV shows for a flat £5.99 subscription fee.

While this is likely a mistake or temporary issue, the timing of the launch of BritBox and Nvidia Shield TV devices losing access to BBC iPlayer and ITV Hub — the two forces behind the new paid streaming service — makes it an odd-timed coincidence.

It’s also not clear if the issue with missing BBC iPlayer and ITV Hub apps is limited to just the Nvidia Shield TV, or if other Android TV devices are also affected. My own Shield TV device is missing both apps, even after having used them extensively over the past few days. Complaints on Twitter have confirmed that restarting your Shield TV does bring a temporary reprieve, as apps will reappear for a short period before disappearing again (via Reddit).

Neither app is visible within the Google Play Store on Shield TV units, either. Searching pulls up a blank or a simply doesn’t work. Voice search is also quite spotty when searching for either app when it is usually pretty accurate.

Chromecasting from your smartphone to your Nvidia Shield TV works with no issues, so there is a temporary workaround to ensure that you can still watch your favorite ITV and BBC shows. We’re sure that a fix will be incoming but will update once we know more. Alternatively, if you have found a solution or have seen the issue on other Android TV set-top boxes, be sure to let us know down in the comments section below.