The release is that of a ‘mini-episode’ that will premiere on Christmas Day (25 December), with the short, given the title of ‘Many Happy Returns’, set to serve as an official prequel to the upcoming 3-episode third season, which is set for premiere on 1 January 2014 on BBC One. While probably not quite a move that could be defined as ‘content discovery’ for those that view it, the BBC are nevertheless using a rarely-applied method to offer fans of crime drama series Sherlock the chance to view some additional content ahead of their new season. The BBC’s release, especially considering the part-funding and that many of the new red button features have been seen on Virgin Media TiVo boxes since ‘late 2012′ (barely months after YouView launched) amongst other smart TV providers since, will be seen as more of a relief than a benefit amongst some users, but now that stage is complete, will the BBC be able to support their own interests and develop on YouView in time with third parties? The iPlayer red button updates, meanwhile, see users able to take advantage of a revised 30-day catchup window, exclusive iPlayer programming, and greater content curation abilities than ever before. Naturally needing to offer their improvements for the platform considering they are a participating party in the free-to-air smart TV venture, the BBC have put on the newest version of their ‘connected red button services’, alongside an updated edition of the BBC iPlayer, though both of which have arrived comparatively late when compared with other platforms.Ĭurrently limited only to users of BT and Humax-based set-top boxes (with TalkTalk boxes to receive the update “in due course”), YouView customers are now set to be able to access an array of Sport and News apps via their remote’s red button alongside online on-demand streaming coverage of sporting and musical events.

And in an effort to keep up, they have introduced new features from the BBC. The YouView set-top box collective brand is now an established part of the media market within the UK, and competing to grow with new features just like their growing number of competitors.

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