BBC will release iPlayer for Windows Phone

BRITISH BROADCASTING HOUSE the BBC announced on Tuesday that it will release a version of iPlayer for Microsoft's Windows Phone mobile operating system.

BBC's upcoming Windows Phone iPlayer app will be made available on Windows Phone 8 and Windows Phone 7.5 "in the next few months" the company said, despite rumours nine months ago that it would release the app.

This will see the app arriving on handsets such as the Nokia Lumia 920 and the HTC Windows Phone 8X, as well as older handsets, once those are updated to Microsoft's partly upgraded Windows Phone 7.5 mobile operating system.

Cyrus Saihan, head of business development at the BBC revealed the news today in a blog post. He said, "Mobile is increasingly important as a way for our audiences to access our services. BBC iPlayer and BBC News are already available on Apple (iOS), Android and Blackberry platforms.

"Today I can let you know that we have signed a deal with Microsoft that will enable us to bring BBC iPlayer to the Windows phone platform."

We've contacted the BBC for more information on the app, as the firm's blog post was pretty vague about details. However, from what we understand, the BBC will release an iPlayer Windows Phone app as a shortcut that wraps the mobile website version of iPlayer with its media player app.

Microsoft's partnership with the BBC sees yet more big names deciding to release apps for the Windows Phone operating system. It comes just weeks after the arrival of Spotify on Windows Phone 8, and might see 4OD and ITV Player following suit.

However, the BBC's plans to release the app "in the next few months" seem to suggest that firms are still reluctant to invest in Windows Phone, and given recent sales figures, that doesn't come as much of a surprise. 

Update
We've just had a chat with the BBC, which cleared things up a little. The iPlayer Windows Phone app will not be a native application, and will instead work in a similar way to the shortcut found on Blackberry smartphones. µ