The BBC has today announced series stacking, another forthcoming improvement to its hugely-popular iPlayer.
At present, iPlayer programming covers BBC content from just the past seven days. As of September 13th, however, iPlayer users will be able to take advantage of "series stacking", a service that will make certain shows available for much longer periods.
Series stacking will initially be offered on just a handful of shows, such as Tess Of The D'Urbervilles, History of Climate Change and Survivors. Episodes from these shows will be available for viewing via the iPlayer website for the duration of the entire series.
Following various other recent upgrades, series stacking is a welcome addition to the BBC iPlayer, but it isn't without its limits. The BBC Trust has approved series stacking, but has limited it to 15 per cent of the BBC's on-demand content. That restriction is thought to be reviewed at a later date, but don't expect all series to be stacked anytime soon.
Furthermore, series stacking will initially only be available via streaming, and stacked episodes won't be available for download.
Simon Nelson, controller of multi-platform and portfolio at BBC Vision, said:
Series stacking will really make the unmissable, unmissable. Now, you'll be able to join a series half way through following a friend's recommendation and catch up on all the previous episodes - or watch them all in one go over a weekend.
Series stacking marks a key development in our strategy to let audiences view our programmes whenever and wherever they want.
Series stacking will become available on the iPlayer website as of September 13th.
Official website: bbc.co.uk/iplayer
