BBC outlines its streaming plans for this year’s Glastonbury, with UHD coverage and pop-up live channels once again available to viewers, but no new features.
- Over 90 hours of coverage.
- Glastonbury Hits Channel now live on the iPlayer.
- Main Glastonbury Channel will be available from 27-29 June.
Glastonbury is just weeks away, and to get viewers ready for this year’s event, the Glastonbury Hits Channel on BBC iPlayer is now live, streaming classic tracks from some of the biggest artists to have performed over the years. The channel will be available 24/7, until the festival’s main stages open on Friday 27 June.
The pop-up streaming channel, which can currently be found by searching for ‘Glastonbury’ on the BBC iPlayer, is just the first element of this year’s iPlayer coverage, which will include 90 hours of live coverage between Friday 27th and Sunday 29th June.
The iPlayer will bring viewers over 90 hours of performances with its live streams of the five main stages – Pyramid, Other, West Holts, Woodsies and The Park – with coverage from the Pyramid stage again available in UHD. They’ll also again be coverage with British Sign Language on the iPlayer.
The 1975, Neil Young and Olivia Rodrigo are due to headline the Pyramid Stage. Others appearing at this year’s event include Charli XCX, Doechii, Rod Stewart, Loyle Carner, The Prodigy and Wolf Alice.
What’s available during Glastonbury?
During the festival weekend, the iPlayer Glastonbury Channel returns with hosts Clara Amfo, Huw Stephens, Jack Saunders, Jamz Supernova, Jo Whiley and Lauren Laverne. They will guide viewers through the biggest sets and festival surprises as they happen, the standout moments from BBC One and BBC Two as they are broadcast, and special guests.
Meanwhile, The Glastonbury Highlights iPlayer Channel will go live from late evening on Friday 27 June. Here, viewers can catch up with all the biggest, most-talked about performances from this year’s festival, 24 hours a day, until Wednesday 30 July.
After Glastonbury…
On-demand, BBC iPlayer provides over 90 sets and over 90 must-watch tracks to enjoy throughout July (for 30 days after broadcast). New and on-demand for this year will be Glastonbury Recap – a short montage of clips released each day of the festival to catch viewers up on the action and Glastonbury Highlights – five compilations featuring tracks from some of the most memorable performances from 2025, available for a year shortly after the festival.
How to watch
If you have a compatible connected TV or device, including Sky Q, Sky Stream, EE TV, Virgin Media 360 or Stream, Freeview Play, Freely or Freesat 4K, you’ll be able to press red to access the iPlayer and the Glastonbury channels on your TV.
Coverage will be available in HD (subject to the speed of your internet connection). However, the Pyramid Stage channel will also be offered in UHD.
Coverage on traditional broadcast channels
The full schedules are yet to be confirmed, but BBC One, BBC Two and BBC Four will host extensive coverage. The first live show will be on BBC Two on Thursday 26th June when Clara Amfo and Lauren Laverne look ahead to what’s coming up.
BBC Two will screen ‘Best of Glastonbury. And further highlights of the event will be shown after the festival weekend has finished on BBC Three.
How does coverage compare to previous years?
Overall, there’s little innovation in the BBC’s coverage, which is broadly similar in terms of size as last year and the year before.
As in 2024, BBC Three no longer covers Glastonbury live. Also as per the previous year, streaming coverage is capped at just over 90 hours.
New features launched after Glastonbury returned from the pandemic-related break, including its pop-up channels and sign language offer remain the same this year.
And it’s not expanding 4K UHD coverage beyond the Pyramid Stage. That’s a shame as most 43″+ size screens on the market for the last five years have included 4K UHD support as standard and there’s demand for high quality coverage. In this case, consumers are ahead of the broadcasters.
By: Marc Thornham | Image: BBC