- iPlayer is finally available from the Play Store for the Google TV Streamer
- BBC streaming channels are also available in guide
- The delay was due to a “technical issue” that seems to have been resolved
As much as we like the Google TV Streamer, there’s been a huge problem with it if you’re a UK viewer: there was no iPlayer app. So for nearly six months now, UK users have been missing out on one of the most important streaming apps. That’s finally changed, and the iPlayer app is now supported, and streaming BBC channels are also being added to the ‘Channels’ view, according to 9to5Google.
iPlayer isn’t exactly an obscure app: it’s been at the forefront of UK streaming since its debut in 2007, and today it’s one of the apps you expect to find on every UK streamer and smart TV. That includes Google TV and Android TV, where it’s been available for years. So its arrival on the Google TV Streamer is long overdue.
Why wasn’t iPlayer available for the Google TV Streamer?
There’s a bit of background here. The BBC has a list of officially supported devices that “meet our standards and have passed our tests”. The Google TV Streamer wasn’t one of them at launch – the same happened with the Chromecast – but in November 2024 the device was added to the official list. And then the device was removed again, with the BBC saying that “there is a technical issue which we are working on with Google.”
Whatever the issue was, it’s apparently been fixed (although the BBC hasn’t yet updated its certification list to say so) and the iPlayer app is now available to install, and the channels appearing 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’s free to licence fee payers.
You can install the app now from the Apps section on your streamer, or via the Google Play Store on your phone.
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