BBC To Launch Budget Priced iPlayer App

The BBC's top executive is all set to move the corporation more fully into the digital generation.
He has revealed that the BBC's international iPlayer iPad 'app' will cost just £6.13 ($10) a month when it launches later this year.
Director General Mark Thompson said the global version of the corporation's online catch-up service for iPads will launch "definitely this year", adding that it will cost, "a small number of dollars per month, definitely fewer than 10".
The international iPlayer iPad app will also give subscribers access to BBC archive programming.
He was speaking about a range of fresh proposals for the BBC's future at the FT Digital Media & Broadcasting conference in London adding: "We're exploring internationally what the right pricing and models are...the most important thing is the consumer pricing is right."
He said that the iPlayer app allows the BBC to "sell directly to consumers" without shows being rebranded or reformated, which often happens when UK shows are bought by international broadcasters.
Thompson also said the corporation is following in Hollywood's footsteps and "looking at a series of windows" for shows, to "optimise value across that lifecycle".
International rights windows for films and TV shows typically mean they become available first on DVD and broadcast and online pay-per-view services, followed by subscription and free-to-air TV.
He also said he wants broadcasters, mobile phone companies and the government to get together to create a "road map" for mobile television.
"I believe that there's a strong case for the UK's broadcasters, mobile phone operators, Ofcom and government to come together to develop a roadmap for the introduction of mobile TV in this country," Thompson added.
"This would be complementary to the availability of TV content on demand, whether streamed or cached on the device and would enable the public to access time-critical content - news, major sports events and so on - wherever they are."
In January 162m programmes - an average of six per household - were downloaded via the iPlayer in the UK.
Thompson revealed the greatest month-on-month growth on iPlayer use was through iPads, smartphones and games consoles.
He ruled out launching a BBC social network but said it was in conversations with Facebook and praised YouTube as a great environment for the "sampling" and "marketing" of BBC programming.
At the event in London he said: "We're launching this set of proposals which chart a new long-range direction for the BBC.
"We want the BBC of the future to put quality first; to do fewer things better; to guarantee access for all not just to its own services but to the wider benefits of digital; to make the licence-fee work harder; and to set new boundaries for itself," he enthused.
He insisted that his proposals are our answer to a set of challenges laid down last summer by the BBC Trust and said the Trust will "take the proposals and consult the public about them" before arriving at its own view about the strategic way forward for the BBC.
"We're lucky enough not to be starting with a blank sheet of paper - we have an established digital media strategy, called Creative Future that we developed three years ago.
"Creative Future set the basic digital direction for the BBC - it delivered services like BBC iPlayer to the public, and set us down a road to liberate the BBC's enormous archive.
"Today's proposals build on that vision of the BBC's role in the digital age," he said.
(BMcC/KMcA)