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BBC introduces live restart for smart TVs

Green button prompt sends viewers directly to iPlayer

The BBC’s green button now lets viewers start watching programmes from the very beginning.

The new function lets those with a connected and capable smart TV go back to the start of a programme, whilst they’re still being broadcast, by pressing the green button on their TV’s remote control.

When viewers switch over to a BBC channel a small graphic appears on screen prompting viewers to restart the programme. Upon doing so, the TV instantly loads BBC iPlayer and plays the programme from the start.

The new feature is available now across BBC One and BBC One HD, BBC Two and BBC Two HD, BBC Four, and will be rolled out to BBC Four HD in the future.

Dan Taylor-Watt, head of BBC iPlayer, said: “Live restart is one of BBC iPlayer’s most valued features, and we’ve now made it even easier to access from our broadcast TV channels. We’re hoping pressing the green button to restart will become a natural part of watching TV, much as pressing the red button has for millions of people each week.”

Live restart was pioneered by BBC iPlayer, and has been available to viewers on connected TVs and for web and mobile browsers for some time. More than half of people watching BBC iPlayer live on TVs already use live restart, and almost one in five BBC iPlayer viewers across all platforms use it.