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BBC iplayer launches on Sky+
MUMBAI: BBC iPlayer, the BBC’s video on demand service, has launched on Sky+, bringing the best of the BBC’s TV programmes directly to the living room.
Up to 6.7 million homes with a Sky+ HD box and broadband connection will be able to enjoy the best of the BBC on demand in a familiar, easy to use BBC iPlayer experience that helps audiences catch up on programmes they have missed.
Audiences can access BBC iPlayer directly from Sky’s on demand programme guide, and choose from many of the BBC’s most popular shows, including Doctor Who, Strictly Come Dancing and EastEnders.
BBC iPlayer is available alongside catch-up TV from Sky, ITV, Channel 5, with Channel 4’s 4oD due to be added early next year, completing the line-up of free-to-air terrestrial catch-up TV services on Sky+. Sky On Demand also offers on demand access to shows from a number of other leading channels including UKTV, MTV and Discovery, in addition to movies on demand and drama ‘box-sets’ such as Boardwalk Empire, Mad Men and Stella.
BBC iPlayer has been integrated into Sky’s existing electronic programme guide and on demand menus. It contains a number of features that make it even easier for Sky customers to find the BBC programmes they want, with content separated into a series of simple categories. Viewers are able to browse through content by channel, day and genre, and can gain easy access to BBC shows in high-definition. Regional and signed programmes are also available through dedicated categories. Once a customer has made their choice, the programme is downloaded directly to their Sky+ planner for them to watch at a time that suits them.
This deal between the BBC and Sky builds on a substantial history of industry partnerships for BBC iPlayer, which is now available on over 650 platforms and devices.
Sky director of TV Products Luke Bradley-Jones said, “We’re delighted to have partnered with the BBC to bring the best of the BBC on demand to Sky customers. Providing customers with the flexibility to enjoy their favourite TV on demand, our comprehensive catch-up TV service perfectly complements the genius of Sky+, which already helps millions of our customers take charge of their viewing. We continue to put Sky customers in control, with the addition of BBC iPlayer to Sky+ sitting alongside a range of innovations including remote record, series link and now even being able to use your iPad as a remote control.”
BBC Programmes and On-Demand GM Daniel Danker said: “BBC iPlayer has had a record-breaking year, with two billion requests for programmes in 2011 and nearly 200 million requests in September 2012 alone. Available on over 650 platforms and devices across PC, mobile, tablet and internet-connected TVs, we are delighted that iPlayer is now also available to millions of Sky+ homes. 20% of all iPlayer use is already on the living room TV. By partnering with Sky, BBC iPlayer is available on all major UK TV platforms at no extra charge, making sure our audiences can access the best of the BBC’s content at home and on the go, whenever and wherever they choose.”
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Inshorts Group chief Deepit Purkayastha joins IAB video council for Southeast Asia and India
The co-founder and chief executive of the short-form content platform has been inducted into the IAB SEA+India Video Council, giving India a stronger voice in shaping digital video frameworks
NOIDA: India has long been the world’s most chaotic, multilingual and mobile-first digital market. Now, one of its most prominent short-video executives is getting a seat at the table where the rules are written.
Deepit Purkayastha, co-founder and chief executive of Inshorts Group, has been selected as a member of the IAB SEA+India Video Council for 2026. Run by the Interactive Advertising Bureau, the council brings together senior leaders from Southeast Asia and India to shape standards, best practices and measurement frameworks for the fast-evolving video and digital advertising ecosystem.
The timing is pointed. According to the IAMAI-Kantar Internet in India Report 2025, over 588 million Indians are now consuming short-video content, with growth increasingly driven by rural and non-metro audiences. India’s active internet user base has crossed 950 million, with 57 per cent of users now coming from rural markets. Yet the frameworks that govern how video consumption is measured and monetised were largely designed for single-language, Western markets and have struggled to keep pace with the scale, diversity and complexity of India’s digital landscape.
Purkayastha is no stranger to these debates. He already serves on the AI Council at Marketing and Media Alliance India and as co-chair of the Digital Entertainment Committee at the Internet and Mobile Association of India. His induction into the IAB SEA+India Video Council extends that influence into the global video standards arena.
Inshorts Group sits squarely at the intersection of these forces. Its flagship product, Inshorts, India’s highest-rated short news app, reaches 12 million active users with 60-word news summaries. Its sister platform, Public App, reaches 80 million monthly active users across more than 700 districts and 12 languages, serving communities that most global platforms barely register.
Purkayastha said the opportunity was about building something more representative. “India today sits at the centre of the global video ecosystem, but the frameworks that define how value is created and measured have not always kept pace with the realities of our market,” he said. “Being part of the IAB SEA+India Video Council is an opportunity to contribute to a more representative and future-ready approach, one that accounts for diversity in language, context, and user intent.”
As a council member, Purkayastha will contribute to shaping regional standards across video advertising, measurement and platform governance, with a focus on frameworks that are native to India’s multilingual, mobile-first ecosystem rather than imported from global benchmarks designed elsewhere.
For years, India has been content to play by rules written for other markets. Purkayastha’s induction is a signal that it is done waiting to be consulted and ready to start writing them.
