4oD should be live and kicking on Free Time from Freesat this month.
Channel 4 sources revealed that the much-loved on-demand platform will arrive alongside BBC iPlayer, ITV Player and YouTube soon, but couldn’t give us a date on exactly when.
The next-gen subscription free digital satellite service from Freesat impressed us greatly on launch. But the promises 4oD and Demand 5 apps were conspicuous by their absence.
Despite being told that they’d arrive ‘soon’ after launch, they haven’t and it’s only now we’ve got our first glimpse of 4oD seeing the light of day.
Read Recombu Digital’s guide to 4oD
Free Time from Freesat is in many ways the Freesat equivalent of YouView. You get access to all of the regular linear channels plus the ability to pause, record and rewind live TV like normal. But you also have the option to go back in time so to speak, and pull up programmes from earlier in the day that have since become available on iPlayer and other services. It’s a very slick operation that works well and looks great. Check out our review of the first Freetime from Freesat box here.
As well as this, Sarah Rose, commercial & business development Channel 4 also spoke of plans to revamp the 4oD registry process to add location information. While this would be totally opt in, in future you’ll be able to add where you live to your 4oD profile.
Right now, when you register with 4oD you’re required to enter your email address and state whether you’re male or female. Rose added that sharing your hometown would completely be an opt-in thing but it might be of interest to some if they’re curious as to what’s the most popular Channel 4 show in their area.
Speaking of popular shows, Rose also took time to reveal that the most popular show on 4oD this year so far is Dogging Tales. No figures were revealed but we were assured that it’s the most watched show by some margin. That’s no mean feat considering the show first aired on April 4, a month tomorrow.
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