About a fortnight ago we pondered “whatever happened to IQTV?” The high-class quiz streaming service was due to launch in July. And after months of not very much, it appears to be launching next week and you’ll be able to watch through Virgin Media as well as various apps and for £3.49 a month promises to be “the exclusive home to the country’s favourite intelligent quiz TV shows and brain games” [apart from Youtube]. [And Challenge.] [And sometimes Dave.]
I honestly can’t see this doing anything at all, the initial offering appears to be ‘over 100 episodes’ which doesn’t sound like a great deal for the repository it’s set itself out to be. Also I can’t claim to be a massive quiz nerd so it’s probably not for me, but they are aiming for an ABC1 50+ demo so fair enough really.
If I’m to buy into it it would need something unique and difficult – obscure shows, or even US Jeopardy or something. Still I wish it best of luck, their webpage is here.
One of the links on their website to their player site goes to a Go Daddy holding page, so I can’t say I’m holding out tremendous hope here
I think they’ve gone too narrow, honestly. A service like this needs to offer shows we can’t get otherwise, I cannot envision anyone binge-watching old Countdown.
Jeopardy! should be a no brainer, and it baffles me there is still no proper way to watch North American Big Brother and Survivor.
I would absolutely subscribe to Hayu if they got the big US competition shows.
I struggle to see Countdown as a draw when it’s still on every weekday. The game’s the same, perhaps there’s a large contingent of old people who miss Richard and Carol enough to pay for it.
I asked them on Facebook what shows they have and they came back with
Countdown
Only Connect
Mastermind/Celebrity Mastermind
A Question of Genius
The Weakest Link
Nothing there worth my £3.49. When i heard this was launching i thought great a Netflix for gameshows, sadly what we appear to be getting is not anywhere close to my imagination.
At least at this moment in time they are all not being shown on standard terestial television. How far back they can go on Countdown & Mastermind would be interesting.
The Countdown clip linked to on their Facebook page is from Series 51 in 2004, the Mastermind is from 2014. Not sure about Only Connect or The Weakest Link, but certainly, A Question of Genius has never been shown outside of Scotland.
Erm, it has.
So it has. There was at least one quiz show that only went out in Scotland which I must’ve muddled it up with. It’s the first series of Only Connect though.
M’learned friend may be thinking of Postcode Challenge, a local show for local people in Scotland. Ran from 2007 to 2011.
Don’t think so. I believe there was a male host to start with. It’ll come to me.
I was confusing A Question of Genius and Panic Attack.
Which is Irish! But other than that…
Northern Irish.
Yes, I could have sworn I wrote Northern Irish, but there we are.
I don’t want to get anyone too excited but currently @IQTVPlayer, after a week live, has… 24 Twitter followers.
Now I know Twitter isn’t a very good guideline for anything, and it’s deliberately being aimed at an older audience, but…