The BBC is experimenting with low latency streaming on iPlayer for a small number of users in England and Scotland and on a limited number of devices.
Currently there’s a 40 second delay between transmission and the iPlayer on live content, versus a 8-10 second on broadcast platforms – while still a significant delay, it has already been reduced from a peak of 80-120 seconds.
From this week, a low latency version of BBC Two will stream to users of a small number of 3rd generation Amazon FireTV Stick, 2nd generation Amazon FireTV Stick 4K, and Samsung CU8000 and CU8500 TVs where the user has placed iPlayer into Beta Mode.
The BBC says it’s looking to learn how internal models of improvements perform in the real world using household broadband connections.
It stresses that “viewers should not expect that all live internet viewing will match the delays on broadcast at the end of the trial” and says it’s more likely to deliver “gradual improvements”.