British Invasion: BBC on the Wii

The Wii’s internet channel line-up just got a little better with the launch of the BBC’s iPlayer. Don’t get too excited yet; for the time being it’s only available to Wii owners in the UK. Launched last Wednesday, the service is offered for a small one-time fee to all current BBC license holders (across the pond, people have to pay for the privilege of watching T.V. — then again, there are no commercials). There’s no word yet on plans to bring the channel stateside.

The iPlayer has been touted as a “catch-up” service, allowing users to download the past week’s programs and watch them on demand. The new channel is expected to be well received in Britain, as the Wii has quickly become the country’s fastest selling console. Said President of Nintendo UK, David Yarnton: “BBC iPlayer on Wii will offer Wii owners another reason to turn their console on everyday and adds to the already established non-gaming content on Wii that includes news and weather channels and an Internet browser.”

The iPlayer has also been made available on Apple iPhones and the iPod Touch.

As video games continue to entice consumers to play with their T.V. rather than simply stare at it, gamers can expect to see more attempts to bring television to their favorite consoles in the near future. Neither Microsoft nor Sony has ignored the possibility of making such content available. For now, we’ll just have to cross our fingers that we get the chance to catch-up on Dr. Who and Flying Circus reruns in the US soon.