Portable video viewing is a big selling point for the iPad, but it’s currently no good for watching the ABC’s iView service, since it doesn’t support the Flash format used by the broadcaster. Fortunately for iPad owners awaiting their deliveries, an official iPad app for iView is in the offing.
If you’re a customer of Adam, iiNet, Internode, Primus or Westnet (among others), then you can watch as much of the ABC’s excellent iView catchup service as you like without it counting towards your monthly download limits. Telstra (Australia’s largest ISP) has long been notable for its absence from that list, but it looks like the company might finally be about to join the club, at least in part.
A final note for today’s ABC iView love-in: the broadcast of the first Matt Smith episode of Doctor Who on iView ahead of its TV debut was a big hit, scoring 112,000 views over the weekend. The show also got more than a million viewers when broadcast on TV on Sunday, suggesting old media isn’t quite dead yet. Another good piece of news for iView fans: Spicks & Specks will be available on the service from this Wednesday, longstanding issues over music rights having finally been resolved.
I’m the first to admit it: Lifehacker goes on about the ABC’s infinite superiority when it comes to online broadcasting quite a lot. Now the national broadcaster is making another innovative move, planning an online-only interactive drama.
A quick reminder that the first appearance by Matt Smith as Doctor Who shows up on the ABC’s iView site at midnight tonight — two days before its broadcast on ABC1. While I’m sure fans hit Channel BT for the episode when it debuted in the UK a fortnight ago, it’s still a handy milestone in online TV.
Web widgets aren’t always that handy, but the ABC’s iView catchup service holds a special place in Lifehacker’s heart (and in the hearts of many viewers), so any new way to access that content is welcome. If you fancy making iView content easily accessible on your own web site, or perhaps embedding it on your desktop, the iView widget is just the ticket.
Other networks are slowly gaining ground in catch-up TV, but the ABC’s iView continues to lead the field. Its latest enhancement? Closed captions for every program.
Further proof that we like online TV viewing: Seven’s PLUS7 catch-up service, which launched last month, attracted half a million users in its first month of operation.
The ABC’s iView service is already justifiably wildly popular, but its latest move could serve to enhance its audience even more: the first episode of the new series of Doctor Who will show up on iView two days before it appears on TV.
