BBC Worldwide closing BBC Global iPlayer.

The BBCs commercial arm, BBC Worldwide, have announced that the BBC Iplayer Global will be closed down within the next month or so.

BBC Global Iplayer was available via an ITunes app, and allowed people to watch limited BBC TV content outside the UK.

BBC Global Iplayer was specifically designed for expats, to enable them to watch BBC TV content. BBC Global Iplayer did not have as much content as the UK version of Iplayer, due to copyright and broadcasting rights.

In a statement on Tuesday 12th May 2015, BBC Worldwide said:

BBC Global iPlayer is closing permanently between 26th May and 26th June 2015. Any subscriptions will be honoured in full and auto-renewals will be switched off automatically after your final subscription term during this period. You will only be able to watch your downloads until the day your subscription lapses. This date can be found on your Subscriptions tab on the iTunes store.

We would like to thank all of our subscribers for using the service. We are now developing plans to launch new digital services across multiple devices.

Please note: This is only regarding the BBC Global iPlayer and does not apply to BBC iPlayer in the UK

There is no indication if or when there would be a replacement for the BBC Global Iplayer, but some had speculated that its content would be available via the BBC.com website via a subscription method, as opposed to the BBC Global Iplayer app.

Update: 14/5/15

Global iPlayer will close on 26th June 2015. BBC Worldwide has not yet said what arrangements will apply, if any, to international viewers wanting to subscribe to BBC content on-demand beyond June, although in 2013, it said that it would look at making video-on-demand via the main international bbc.com website.