The BBC has a problem. For almost a century, the British broadcaster has run a number of national and regional radio stations with great effect in the UK. Their impact, however, has decreased in recent years, while podcasts and music broadcasting services have exploded in popularity.
In response, Beeb has embraced the podcast media, packing new and long shows, including The Archers, Desert Island Discs and The Infinite Monkey Cage. But the threat of Spotify, Apple Music and now YouTube Music is still ongoing. However, with the BBC Sounds application, the organization may have finally found its answer.
The new iOS and Android app, available today, will eventually replace iPlayer Radio. At its core, the service is still a hybrid radio and a podcast player.
The broadcaster, however, is changing the way its surfaces are better matched with the experience found in main services such as Spotify. For example, there are collections, with tags like Funny Chat, Upgrade Your Life, Live Sessions and Dance Mixes.
The app also has categories, including hip-hop, classics, crime, science and technology. All of these contain a mix of manually selected podcasts and radio on demand.
The app will track your listening habits and then suggest shows in a new section recommended for you. "We want to provide many different ways," said Dan Taylor-Watt, Chief of BBC iPlayer. "For some people, the genre will be the thing they're interested in, and for other people, it's a mood that they are at that time. But also, a great focus is how we will then introduce them to something else. "
No comments:
Post a Comment