- iPlayer is finally available from Play Store for Google TV Streamer
- BBC -Streaming channels are also available in guide
- The delay was due to a “technical problem” that appears to be resolved
As much as we like Google TV Streamer, there has been a huge problem with it if you are a British viewer: There was no iPlayer app. So for almost six months now British users have missed one of the most important streaming apps. It has finally changed and the IPlayer app is now supported and streaming BBC channels is also added to the “Channels” display, according to 9to5Google.
IPlayer is not exactly a fuzzy app: It’s been at the forefront of British streaming since its debut in 2007, and today it’s one of the apps you expect to find on every British streamer and smart TV. It includes Google TV and Android TV, where it has been available for years. So its arrival at Google TV streamer is long too late.
Why was iPlayer not available to Google TV streamer?
There is little background here. The BBC has a list of officially supported devices that “meet our standards and have passed our test”. Google TV streamer was not one of them at the launch – the same thing happened with Chromecast – but by November 2024 the device was added to the official list. And then the device was removed again where the BBC said that “there is a technical problem that we are working on with Google.”
Whatever the problem was, it’s apparently fixed (though the BBC has not yet updated its certification list to say so), and the IPlayer app is now available to install and the channels appear for easy live streaming.
It’s taken a long time, but it’s good to see iPlayer finally arrive: For those of us in the UK, it’s one of the most important streaming apps of all, not least because everything is free to license fee payers.
You can install the app now from the apps section of your streamer or via the Google Play Store on your phone.
