ITV Player, 4OD “This Week” on PS3

If British tax-dodging newspaper, The Guardian, is to be believed, we’re getting two new channels added to the PlayStation 3’s catch-up TV services. The liberal paper has spoken to several key players in the deals and is reporting it as an example of the convergence of new and old media.

It is unclear if this move is the addition of separate internet apps, similar to the incredibly successful iPlayer, or if it will simply be a case of fixing the service’s native websites to work with the PlayStation 3’s extremely fussy browser.

ITV has recently rejected deals with YouTube and US service, Hulu (who are working towards a UK launch, apparently) in favour of growing their streaming user base with the aid of Sony’s home console as well as various other strategies which could see the service being opened up to iPad users and those lucky enough to have internet enabled televisions.

4OD already streams some of its programming via YouTube and they are seemingly open to any potential outlets for their content but Sarah Rose (Director of Commercial Business Development) said that Microsoft had not been as proactive in their approach to securing UK television content as Sony had.

The Guardian goes to great lengths to point out that this is all possible thanks to the face of gaming becoming more acceptable to modern society. While that attitude may seem a little patronising on the surface, it is difficult to argue with.We’ve heard many stories of people who are outside of the traditional console consumer base buying the PlayStation 3 simply for its media capabilities.

With the spread of HD, Blu-ray and 3D television being pushed ever-harder at market we can only imagine that there will be many more people taking the plunge who haven’t the slightest intention of queuing up for Uncharted 3.

44 Comments

  1. Hell yes :)

  2. Brilliant time to come home and get my internet back then, although I do think ITV player will have considerably less use than iPlayer does at the moment and 4oD potentially could.

  3. Oooooh! etc…
    Just another feather in the cap for the PS3. Might be worth finding a bigger hat at this rate…

  4. I hope ITV go down the same root as iplayer and not web based. Same with 4od.

    • You do know the iPlayer icon is just a link to the website, right?

      • Yeah, but it’s a lot easier to select the iplayer icon instead of loading the web browser, going to favs (if you’ve got it saved) then selecting what you want.

  5. Finally! I was so dissapointed with 4od on virgin media (only giving the last weeks worth of content), I’ll finally be able to watch as much spaced and darkplace as I want

    • I had a cat once, i dropped a sofa on it, it was a rightoff so i stood on its head… love darkplace

    • its the same on ps3. no archive just catch up

  6. Well I’m guessing it will just be a link straight to it like the iplayer, but at the moment I don’t think they even work if u go to it.

  7. oohh i hope so, i’ve been waiting for this for ages :P

  8. No offence, but don’t fuck with the ‘Gruniade’ as it’s at least a proper paper (fuck the red tops)anyroad, great news…

  9. Listen up, as oppossed to having this permalink shit? (i still dunna have a fucking clue as to what it is) why not introduce an edit button instead???
    bugger, i meant ‘Grauniad’…yes i’m left…

  10. Well ive just ‘permalinked’ Stripeysocks??? what the fucking blazes does this mean??? (i was testing it) i’m old, and stupid, so please inform me??? (p.s an edit function, and i’m sure most would agree, would be far more benefitional to the community) peas

    • It gives you a permanent link (in the form of a web address) to that comment. Well, it should do.

    • What are you gibbering on about old man.

    • I want to get you some Horlicks. Would that be nice? *plumps pillow*

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