Channel 4 has launched its 4oD Catch Up app for the iPad, which enables fans of Peep Show, Skins and The Inbetweeners to watch their favourite Channel 4 programmes wherever they are. The app is free to download for a limited time only and brings Channel
4 on-demand content to a widening audience of iPad owners. Since launching last Thursday, the new 4oD app has been the No.1 free iPad app in the Apple App Store.
The app is the result of a collaboration between app development firm Nice Agency, online video platform provider Ooyala, and Channel 4. Nice Agency designed
and developed the iPad app, while Ooyala provided the back-end services to enable Channel 4s existing video content to be rendered on the iPad.
“Mobile devices like the iPad are changing our lifestyles, but they are also changing our expectations of what technology should be able to deliver,” says Nice Agency joint managing director, Ryan Hall. “The first mobile devices made us come to expect telephony on the move, while TV catch-up like 4oD and the iPlayer has fundamentally changed our viewing habits. With the latest generation of tablet computers, users increasingly expect to be able to watch their favourite TV programmes wherever they are, whenever they want. Viewers also expect a rich viewing experience from their online content, no matter what device they’re using, and they’re used to crisp, clear and seamless video.” 
The app is being offered as a free download thanks to sponsorship from Heineken. As well as providing access to all Channel 4’s UK content, there are plans to broaden the available content to include the broadcaster’s rich programme archive and US shows, as well as to expand the application to the iPhone.
