TVGuide.co.uk TV Guide vs BFBS Player
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
TVGuide.co.uk TV Guide
Access comprehensive TV listings for UK channels. Stay updated with the latest programming, connect with a community, and utilize helpful tools. Designed for ease of use and continuous improvement based on user feedback.
- UK TV listings
- Latest news
- Community connection
- User-friendly design
- Tools for users
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Welcome to our app! We're glad you're here. It was created with our valuable users in mind, so that you can benefit from faster and better support, stay up-to-date on the latest news, connect with our community, and make use of our tools. With its user-friendly design, we hope you'll find it easy to use and enjoyable as well. We're always looking for ways to improve, so your suggestions are more than welcome. Please feel free to write to us about any feedback or questions.
BFBS Player
Access a variety of UK TV channels and exclusive Forces content while serving overseas. Requires authentication with a Defence Gateway account for serving British Forces members and entitled users. Not intended for unsupervised use by minors.
- UK TV channels
- Exclusive Forces channels
- Overseas access
- Defence Gateway authentication
- Forces TV channel access in UK
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Provides the range of BFBS TV services to members of the British Forces, including their dependents and other entitled users serving overseas. To use the app and the services you must be a serving member of the British Forces and use your Defence Gateway account to authenticate your log in. The App is not intended for unsupervised use by minors. The range of services includes the main UK TV channels with extra channels designed exclusively for the Forces. These are intended for viewers serving or posted outside of the UK and access is restricted within the UK, apart from the Forces TV channel.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: BFBS Player at 5.0 against TVGuide.co.uk TV Guide's 4.3. BFBS Player also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 2) and ads (none vs shown). TVGuide.co.uk TV Guide's advantage is update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 6 months) and ratings volume (69 vs 3). On price, review sentiment, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. TVGuide.co.uk TV Guide sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. BFBS Player asks for nothing beyond the download.
BFBS Player holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: TVGuide.co.uk TV Guide has 69 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 20% and 19% positive.
TVGuide.co.uk TV Guide ships an update every 2 weeks, BFBS Player every 6 months. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and November 1, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | TVGuide.co.uk TV Guide | BFBS Player |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.3 (69 ratings) | 5.0 (3 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 20.2% of reviews — better | 19.4% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 69 — better | 3 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks — better | Every 6 months |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Ad-supported | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Apple TV | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 3 MB | 66 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 12+ |
| Developer | DIGITALBOX PUBLISHING LIMITED | BFBS Radio |
Customer experience
TVGuide.co.uk TV Guide
BFBS Player
User reviews
TVGuide.co.uk TV Guide
From 69 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Easy to use
- 🔍 Helpful TV listings
- 📺 Useful features like reminders and watchlists
Room to improve
- 🤖 Intrusive and excessive ads
- 🙈 Inability to see TV listings due to ads
- 🐌 Slow performance and freezing issues
- 🔄 Constant need to update and redownload app
BFBS Player
From 3 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Good for overseas access
- 👍 Catch up service appreciated
- 👍 Improved login process (recent)
- 👍 Works well for some users
- 👍 Free service appreciated
Room to improve
- 🐛 Location detection issues
- 🐛 Constant buffering
- 🐛 Login problems
- 🐛 App crashes/freezes
- 🐛 Limited channels available
Bugs and requests
TVGuide.co.uk TV Guide
Reported bugs
3 issues- App crashes on launch
- Listings not matching actual TV schedules
- Channels not showing up in listings
Requested features
3 requests- Ability to customize channel order
- Offline TV listings access
- Option to pay for ad-free experience
BFBS Player
Reported bugs
17 issues- App thinks users are in the UK when abroad
- App buffers constantly
- Unable to play stream
- Cannot log in
- App returns to login screen after submitting info
Show 12 moreShow fewer
- Login button not working on iPad
- App crashes
- App freezes
- Catch up cuts off last 5 minutes
- TV guide difficult to use
- Links with Defence Gateway cause login loop
- App not working on iPad after update
- Screen shrinks when asking for full screen
- Only plays in small screen on iPad
- Registration 'No' button only works
- Black screen with sound only
- Cannot AirPlay all content
Requested features
8 requests- Show all channels
- Improve location detection for overseas users
- Add Apple TV app
- Enable screen mirroring/casting
- Make app backwards compatible for older iPads
Show 3 moreShow fewer
- Allow users to watch at local time
- Improve video quality
- Add more channels
In-app purchases
TVGuide.co.uk TV Guide
- TV Guide Monthly Subscription1 Month trial$2.991 Month
- TV Guide Annual Subscription1 Month trial$25.491 Year
BFBS Player
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is TVGuide.co.uk TV Guide free?
Is BFBS Player free?
Which has better reviews, TVGuide.co.uk TV Guide or BFBS Player?
Do TVGuide.co.uk TV Guide or BFBS Player have ads?
Which is updated more often, TVGuide.co.uk TV Guide or BFBS Player?
Other comparisons
