PSA: BBC iPlayer is not yet available on Google TV Streamer

Damien Wilde | Oct 1 2024 - 1:32 am PT

Despite the global launch just a few days ago, the immensely popular BBC iPlayer is not yet available to download on the Google TV Streamer.

As one of the pioneers of online streaming, the BBC iPlayer app offers UK license payers the ability to watch localized content live, on-demand, or even download for later viewing. The app has been available on Android TV and Google TV for some time, but for an unknown reason, it is still not easily available on the new TV Streamer. Searching the on-device Play Store draws a blank with only alternative options like TVPlayer and Freeview appearing.

This is more pronounced as during the initial setup of the Chromecast with Google TV you can choose to install iPlayer as one of the default localized services alongside ITVX, My5, and several others. When you breeze through the setup process of the Google TV Streamer, there is no option to add or install the BBC iPlayer application.

What interesting is that initially, BBC had stated that they had “no immediate plans” to support the Chromecast with Google TV, but this was quickly changed once the device hit store shelves back in 2020. The BBC’s own support pages for Google hardware omits the latest release, but the page does state that you may experience “issues” when using iPlayer on “uncertified devices.”

You might think that you can install the popular UK-based streaming service from your phone using the “Devices” tab; well, annoyingly, the Google TV Streamer is omitted from this app section even if linked to your device.

It could simply be that because the streaming device is in limited supply and shipping estimates keep slipping, the BBC’s technical team has been unable to thoroughly test the TV Streamer to ensure it works as intended. However, we simply do not know at this stage.

We have contacted the BBC iPlayer team for clarification on whether the Google TV Streamer will be supported ahead of units shipping to early buyers and will update you should we receive a response. For now, the only solution is to sideload BBC iPlayer on your brand-new streaming hardware – if you happen to get one early.