PS3 gets ITV and Channel 4 on demand

Telly-loving PlayStation 3 owners are in for a treat this week – the ITV Player and Channel 4's 4oD are set to join the BBC iPlayer as PS3 applications.

That means you'll soon be able to watch shows Coronation Street and The Inbetweeners via your PS3, The Guardian reports.

Both services will launch this week for users with broadband internet connections.

Robin Pembroke, managing director at ITV.com, said he also expected to see shows such as Emmerdale becoming available on internet-enabled TV sets, tablet computers such as the iPad and other gaming consoles.

Could the ITV Player come to Xbox 360? Could 4oD? Sarah Rose, director of commercial business development at Channel 4, said Channel 4 was "not saying no" to a tie-up with Xbox 360, which only carries TV shows from BSkyB's SkyPlayer on its subscription package.

But she said Microsoft was "not coming to our door" actively looking for deals with other TV companies. Why not, Microsoft?

And why not the Wii, which already includes the BBC iPlayer? Because it does not have the facility to carry advertising.

According to Sony, 80 per cent of the four million PS3 consoles in the UK are connected to Sony's broadband-enabled service – which we take to mean the PlayStation Network.

For Sony, the deal extends the PlayStation 3's mainstream appeal. "It is about changing people's attitudes to the PS3 as a platform to view it as a much broader entertainment device," Alan Duncan, the marketing director for PlayStation in the UK, said.

Duncan said Sony would promote the availability of ITV and Channel 4 content to PS3 owners through email marketing, PlayStation blogs and directly on the console itself.

And in the new year Sony will launch a telly advertising campaign and a TV sponsorship deal to push the PS3's media entertainment services to a wider audience.

"There is a compelling story to tell about the PS3 that goes far beyond gaming," Duncan said.