Last week, The Inquirer reported that at the UK launch of the new Nokia Luia 610 a Nokia spokesperson said (off the record):
“BBC iPlayer is expected to arrive on Windows Phone within the next few weeks, a sign that the Windows Phone Marketplace is attracting more developers.”
That was great news as the popular BBC iPlayer had seemed to avoid working on a Windows Phone app. The Windows Phone has been under criticism for having a less than varied selection of apps and many users were turned off by the lack of quality apps available and potential users were not lured away from their current phone provider. So when the news broke that the BBC and Windows Phone Marketplace were partnering up, it was a great sign for the future.
However Pocket-Lint has reportedly telephoned the BBC and has spoken to someone in the Digital Communication department and has been told that no app is in the pipeline, about to be released or planned for the future. If this is true, it is a huge blow for Microsoft and the Windows Phone.
The Windows Phone has one of the smallest market shares and is desperately in need of a strong partnership in order to survive. The BBC iPlayer app could have been the sign that the company were worth investing in and many others could have followed, boosting the Windows Phone’s survival rate dramatically.
However the quote provided to Pocket-Lint by the BBC seems to imply the situation is not for discussion :
“BBC iPlayer is already on over 500 platforms and devices including Virgin Media, BT Vision, FreeSat, Freeview, Sony PlayStation, Nintendo Wii, and hundreds of mobile phones, tablets, and Internet-connected TVs.
We are always looking at new and existing platforms to bring BBC iPlayer to, but have no plans to launch a BBC iPlayer native app in Windows Phone Marketplace in the immediate future.”
