BBC tunes up iPlayer Radio 30-day downloads in time for the Proms

BBC iPlayer Radio listeners will be able to download and listen to programmes offline for up to 30 days. 

Rolling out this week, just in time for the BBC Proms, the updated iPlayer Radio will be available on iOS, Android and Kindle devices. 

Content can be downloaded over WiFi and stored temporarily on the device, so you can listen back to episodes of Jarvis Cocker’s Sunday Service, Just A Minute, Kermode’s Film Review or whatever you want.

Related: BBC reveals iPlayer plans: 30 day catch up, radio playlists, 4K Ultra HD streamingProgrammes from BBC Radio 1 to Radio 6 Music will be available to download as will shows from BBC Asian Network and Local and National stations. The terminally masochistic and possibly insane can even download and store Nick Grimshaw’s breakfast show if they so wish. 

Mark Friend controller radio and music multiplatform at BBC Radio said: “The spectacular success of the BBC’s podcasts, with around 70 million downloads in May, shows that people want to download high quality audio to listen to at their convenience. 

“Extending this to make almost all of the BBC’s radio programmes downloadable, including Comedy, Music and Drama, will delight our audience which has been asking for this.”

Originally slated to land last year, iPlayer Radio downloads is one of the most requested features from iPlayer users, according to the BBC’s general manager of product, radio and music Andrew Scott, who said that iPlayer Radio racked up over 860 million requests across al devices throughout 2014. 

“We know this is something [customers have] been asking for and we have been working hard to make it possible,” said Scott. “Now they will have more choice than ever to listen to their favourite programmes, with all downloads available for 30 days and no need to worry about mobile data limits.”

You can stream iPlayer Radio content over 3G, 4G and WiFi. Once you’ve updated to the latest version of the app, find the piece of content you want, hit ‘Download’ to add the programme to the queue. Once you’re connected to WiFi, your programmes will start downloading. 

The great majority of the BBC Proms programmes across the next eight weeks will be given the listen again treatment. As with TV shows on regular BBC iPlayer, not every programme available on iPlayer Radio will be available for 30 days and some content won’t be available at all. 

You can download iPlayer Radio from iTunes App Store, Google Play and Amazon Appstore.