2 to 3 years after Smart TVs began to hit stores, app developers have started to take stock. Former BBC iPlayer chief joins the pack and says that the "connected TV market is not in a good way today".

Former BBC talks Smart TV
In an interview with TechRadar former BBC chief, Daniel Danker, who was responsible for the very successful iPlayer project, provides some insight. He was not fired from BBC, but chose to leave for a new role at Shazam.

BBC’s iPlayer is free to use and offers access to TV shows, events and radio channels in the UK. One of the goals were to bring it to pretty much any device used by consumers, and it is probably one of the most extensive video app rollouts in Europe, besides maybe Netflix. Over the last few years, the iPlayer has been released for smartphones, tablets, PC/mac, game consoles, TV boxes, and naturally Smart TVs.


The BBC iPlayer app exists on 600 Smart TVs – but very few people use it

After having developed iPlayer apps for over 650 devices, of which 600 are for different Smart TV models, Danker says that devices such as the iPhone and Galaxy were more popular than all of the 600 apps for Smart TVs combined.

- "I brought iPlayer to over 650 different devices, the majority of which were connected TVs. But I can tell you a small handful of devices, the iPhone, the Samsung Galaxy S2 and S3, those three devices offered more bang for your buck than 600 different TV models that we had worked with. The connected TV market is not in a good way today." says Daniel Danker to TechRadar.

Danker also says that the Smart TV market is very complicated. And even though the Smart TV category of the iPlayer also includes Blu-ray players, HDD recorders, and set-top boxes that are fairly widespread in the UK today, very few people use the apps on these devices.

The iPlayer stats tell the full story
Every month, BBC releases iPlayer statistics. The iPlayer is wildly popular in the UK, and about 7 to 8 million videos/radio programs are accessed every day.

The latest report reveals that even though the Smart TV category also includes many of the other boxes, even the Roku, it has the smallest share of viewing. Most people access iPlayer from a PC, unless you combine the smartphone and tablet categories.

You can see the BBC iPlayer report from July 2013 here.

Do you use the apps in your Smart TV?

- Source: TechRader