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BBC programmes from the previous seven days will only be available over Wi-Fi, including The Cloud hotspots, and will be encoded in the H.264 format, since the Apple devices do not support iPlayer's standard Flash streams.

Ashley Highfield, the director of future media and technology at the BBC, made the announcement has he revealed that iPlayer is now serving half a million programmes each day and is on course to become the UK's second most popular web destination after Google.

In addition to support for Apple's mobile devices, the BBC is planning a number of enhancements to the service. These include an improved navigation and programme recommendations based on what shows the viewer has previously watched through iPlayer.

iPlayer "channels" are also appearing on other websites.

"To build on this initial success, we continue to reach out to audiences wherever they are, and we now have BBC-branded 'channels' on Yahoo! and partnerships with MSN and Blinkx going live soon," Highfield said.

"These enable you to watch highlights and excerpts of BBC programmes, as well as clicking on a link to watch the full programme on BBC iPlayer."