Auntie Player
An Apple TV app to access on demand programmes from the BBC.
Why do this?
A few weeks ago the BBC replied to someone on Twitter asking about there being an Apple TV app for BBC iPlayer. Here's what they had to say:
@benjaminmumford Hi Ben, there are no plans currently, but you should still be able to use Airplay http://t.co/qnaUSZIPis
— BBC iPlayer (@BBCiPlayer) September 12, 2015This was a disappointing response — not just because we want to watch world class BBC programming on our Apple TV — but because they have a public responsibility to do so:
Make engaging digital content and services available on a wide range of digital platforms and devices.
The app we're publishing here was built in just under 9 hours at a hack event to prove it could be done. It's by no means complete or perfect, and it's very much a proof of concept. It's our hope the BBC will release an official app for Apple TV, as they've made iPlayer available on a wide range of other set-top boxes and Smart TVs.
Will you submit this to the App Store?
No. This project is merely a proof of concept to see what can be achieved with the tvOS platform and the BBC's amazing content.
How did you work out how the BBC API works?
We used a mixture of snooping network requests from the iOS client and searching around for resources online. We found a great article from an engineer who worked on the API which helped us understand some of the concepts powering it.