RTÉ Player vs BBC America
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
RTÉ Player
Access a vast library of Irish television content, both live and on-demand. Stream popular dramas, sports, entertainment, and children's programs from RTÉ channels. Features include personalized recommendations, watchlists, and accessibility options.
- Live and on-demand TV streaming
- Thousands of favorite RTÉ shows
- Full series of dramas and soaps
- Live sporting action
- RTÉ Player Kids section
- In-vision ISL and Audio Description
- Personalized recommendations and watchlists
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RTÉ Player is the home of must-see TV in Ireland, live and on-demand. Watch 1000s of your favourite RTÉ shows. Full series of gripping drama from home and abroad, soaps, live sporting action and entertainment shows everyone’s talking about. Browse and switch between RTÉ channels - RTÉ One, RTÉ 2, RTÉ News and RTÉ Kids on the go. Entertain little ones with RTÉ Player Kids. A world of fun, learning and entertainment with the best RTÉJr programmes live and on demand. KEY FEATURES - Don’t miss a minute of the action, breaking news or live sport. -Discover the most-talked about shows like Room to Improve, Kin and Smother. -Access shows with in-vision Irish Sign Language (ISL) and Audio Description (AD) -Sign in to RTÉ Player to continue watching shows and pick up where you left off on any device. -Sign in and get recommendations tailored to you, making picking what to watch easier than ever. -Watch later. ‘Favourite’ a program to create a watchlist of programmes to go back to, so you don’t miss RTÉ’s most talked about shows. -Share your favourites with friends through social sharing. The RTÉ Player App uses streaming technology which means that you must be connected to the Internet in order to watch programmes. The app will automatically adjust video quality based on the speed of your WiFi connection.
BBC America
Stream full episodes of popular BBC America series like Killing Eve and Top Gear. Access video extras, sneak peeks, and live TV with your cable provider login. Resume watching where you left off.
- Full episode streaming
- Video extras and sneak peeks
- Live TV streaming
- Cable/satellite provider login
- Resume watching
- Searchable library
- Airplay/casting support
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Get caught up in your favorite BBC America shows with full episodes, video extras, and sneak peeks at upcoming series. Log in with your cable or satellite provider to watch BBC America LIVE or full episodes of Killing Eve, Top Gear, The Graham Norton Show, and more of your favorite series. Plus you can search the library and track recently-viewed episodes and resume where you left off. Most full episodes require a cable or satellite login, though season premieres are sometimes made available with no login required. You can also sample trailers and behind-the-scenes clips. New episodes are available in-season, usually the day after broadcast. Use your iPhone or iPad to Airplay or cast to your television.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: RTÉ Player at 4.7 against BBC America's 1.8. RTÉ Player also leads on review sentiment (46% vs 5%) and ratings volume (6.3K vs 589). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
RTÉ Player holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 1.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: RTÉ Player has 6.3K ratings behind it against 589, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 46% of RTÉ Player's written reviews are positive against 5% of BBC America's.
RTÉ Player ships an update every 3 weeks, BBC America monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 22, 2026 and October 21, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | RTÉ Player | BBC America |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (6.3K ratings) — better | 1.8 (589 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 46.1% of reviews — better | 5.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 6.3K — better | 589 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks — better | Monthly |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 50 MB | 63 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 12+ |
| Developer | RTÉ | BBC America |
Customer experience
RTÉ Player
BBC America
Bugs and requests
RTÉ Player
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
BBC America
Reported bugs
4 issues- Login issues and sign-in problems
- Playback freezes and restarts randomly
- Closed captions not working as expected
- Casting and mirroring features broken
Requested features
4 requests- Add search and browse functionality
- Improve rewind/fast-forward controls
- Provide a paid ad-free subscription option
- Sync playback progress across devices
In-app purchases
RTÉ Player
No in-app purchases
BBC America
No in-app purchases
