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BBC lays out 'open' vision to combat licence fee critics
The BBC is a renowned broadcaster and a part of Britain's cultural fabric, but its future capabilities are currently under threat. The UK government is preparing to amend its Royal Charter -- a document that shapes the BBC's funding and remit -- and early consultations have hinted at drastic clawbacks. In retaliation, the BBC has announced a volley of counter-proposals today that would, it claims, make its services more "open" and distinctive.
The next generation of Freeview arrives next month
More than ever before, Brits are using catch-up services to watch their favourite TV shows from the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5. YouView is already fusing those services with the traditional Freeview experience, and now, realising its potential, the brains behind Freeview are preparing a similar platform themselves. It's called Freeview Play and we've been told that it'll be launching in October on Panasonic's 2015 line-up of Viera TVs. The idea is that you'll be able to scroll back through the guide and watch an old TV show immediately -- one unified experience for browsing and discovery, rather than launching and navigating separate apps. Not all catch-up services will be integrated at launch, however. Freeview says Demand 5 will be available straight away as a standalone app, but won't support its TV guide experience until later. We suspect more TV manufacturers will launch and update their sets with Freeview Play throughout the year -- if you want to be an early adopter, just look for the "Freeview Play inside" branding on Panasonic's site.
BBC iPlayer now lets you pause and resume shows on different devices
BBC iPlayer lets you watch TV shows on almost any device, but until now all of the different apps have felt like pretty siloed experiences. Well, that's soon going to change. An update rolling out this week is adding support for "cross-device resume," which, as the name suggests, lets you drop one device and pick up from where you left off on another. As long as you're signed in with a BBC ID, iPlayer will do the rest and automatically cue up your episodes on other devices. It'll be available on desktop, tablets and smartphones initially, but the BBC says it'll eventually come to set-top boxes and other TV hardware too.
BBC Three's TV channel set to disappear on March 1st 2016
Under the BBC's latest proposals, BBC Three will remain on TV for a little longer than expected: March 1st 2016, to be exact. The broadcaster's original plan was to make the channel an online-only service this autumn, but back in April the move was delayed until "after Christmas." The BBC Trust still wasn't happy, however, and called for a "more carefully managed transition" back in June. Now, the BBC's response to those concerns -- released as part of a new consultation, although it appears to have been available online before now -- has given us a fresh look at how the changeover will shake out.
BBC iPlayer Radio app will soon let you download shows
One of the reasons why podcasts are so popular is because, unlike live radio, you can download episodes and listen to them when you don't have a connection. The BBC has long understood their popularity, offering both dedicated podcasts and shows cut from its daily broadcasts. Now, however, it's going one step further and adding radio show downloads to its iPlayer Radio app. The feature should blur the line between the two mediums, making it easier for listeners to catch up with their favourite shows and DJs.
BBC told it'll have to give free TV licences to over-75s
What a week it's been for the BBC. Only a few days after it announced 1,000 job cuts as part of a new round of restructuring, the broadcaster has now been told it must fund free licence fees for over-75s. In the Commons today, Culture Secretary John Whittingdale confirmed that the new measure will be phased in from 2018, with the Beeb absorbing the whole cost from 2021.
BBC Trust backs plan to make BBC Three online-only
After months of waiting, the BBC Trust appears to have finally driven the knife into the back of BBC Three, or at least as we know it. As part of its "public value assessment" of the BBC's planned television changes, the Trust says it sees "clear long-term potential" in moving the channel from TV to online, allowing the BBC spend £30 million more on BBC One programming and ramp up its bid to engage younger viewers.
BBC's Newsbeat app is its first aimed solely at young adults
BBC Radio 1 is struggling to keep young listeners tuned in. The station's audience has shrunk to its smallest size in over a decade, but the BBC believes it has a strategy: expanding Radio 1 beyond traditional broadcasting. That means embracing YouTube, iPlayer and now, bite-sized mobile apps. The BBC is breaking out Newsbeat into a standalone app for iOS and Android, repackaging many of the stories it currently runs on the web. The design consists of three feeds -- Latest, Popular and Topics -- and individual news reports are shown as cards with large, bold photos. The BBC says it's aiming the app at 16- to 24-year-olds and will be focused on entertainment news, interviews and social trends. While it's true that millennials spend a lot of time on their phones, the broadcaster could have a tough time drawing their attention away from apps like Snapchat.
BBC experiment lets you control iPlayer with your mind
Instead of grabbing the remote or poking at your smartphone, the BBC thinks the future of TV navigation could lie in mind control. For its latest experiment, the broadcaster is testing a brainwave reading headset developed by This Place that lets you launch iPlayer and choose programmes with your thoughts. The device uses two sensors, one on your forehead and one on your ear, to interpret electrical activity as "concentration" or "meditation." Depending on your preference, focusing your mind will trigger a contextual command, such as launching the app or selecting from one of five programmes on a scrolling carousel. Once the app lands on your chosen TV show, you simply have to "think" until a pink volume bar fills on the left-hand side of the screen. The functionality is basic, but the BBC hopes it can be adapted to assist viewers with disabilities. For now it's just a proof of concept, but maybe in the future we'll all be using brainwaves to tune into BBC Two.
BBC iPlayer comes to the Wii U with GamePad viewing
These days, it's pretty hard to find anything electronic that doesn't have access to BBC iPlayer already. Nintendo's Wii U is one of the most notable exceptions, but if you've been quietly jonesing for an iPlayer client to hit the quirky console, then jones no more. With zero fanfare marking its launch, BBC iPlayer is now available to download in the Nintendo eShop. The Wii U's GamePad is fully supported, too, so you're not tied to the TV screen if, you know, your tablet's run out of battery.
BBC shuts down iPlayer service for subscribers outside the UK
The BBC has offered subscriptions to an international version of its iPlayer streaming service since 2011, but in the next month or so it will close its doors. In case you're wondering why you've never heard of the iPlayer Global service, that's because despite being offered in 16 countries (including Canada), the service never came to the US and stopped expanding back in 2013. Our best (legit) option for the public broadcaster's shows is still its cousin BBC America, which has closed the gap on airing new episodes of shows like Doctor Who from days to hours, and even has the occasional simulcast.
BBC Three's online switch delayed until next year
BBC Three's transition from a traditional channel to an online-only property, with new media playing a key role in its evolution, ain't happening any time this year. The channel was set to be switched off this autumn, but its execution has now been pushed until "after Christmas" while the BBC Trust considers its position. The regulator effectively has the power to approve or deny the move, with a definitive answer expected in June.
BBC iPlayer favourites now sync across your devices
BBC iPlayer is a capable streaming service, but until now there's been little incentive to create an account. Setting up a BBC iD lets you "favourite" shows and save featured music with BBC Playlister, but there the benefits quickly dry up. Now, the BBC is trying to make its account system a little more useful and feature-rich. For starters, it's updating its iPlayer apps with the option to sync favourites between devices. So if you're digging the latest Louis Theroux documentary, you can bookmark it on your laptop and easily find the latest episodes on your smartphone. It's a small step for iPlayer, but one that hopefully primes the platform for other requested features, such as seamless cross-device playback.
BBC iPlayer apps now offer live channels based on where you live
If you're on the move or struggling to gain control of the TV remote in your living room, the BBC's iPlayer apps are an easy way to watch its live programming. The problem, until now, has been that the mobile apps would only let you stream the England-specific versions of BBC One and BBC Two. So if you lived in Edinburgh and wanted to watch Reporting Scotland, you were out of luck until it was made available to stream on-demand. It wasn't the most accommodating setup, so the BBC is updating both its iOS and Android apps to support the regional versions of BBC One and BBC Two broadcast in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Just choose your preferred location in the app's settings and you'll receive exactly the same programming as you would normally on the telly.
The BBC wants you to help decide which of its experiments should make the cut
The BBC is getting a little experimental. Or rather, it wants to show people more of the crazy, forward-thinking ideas that it normally cooks up behind closed doors, and which often never see the light of day. To solve this, the broadcaster is launching a new platform called Taster, where it'll be releasing a steady stream of shows and features that challenge its traditional output. Anyone can access the site online and the BBC is keen for people to get hands-on, whether that means signing up for a new version of iPlayer, or watching some of its creative show formats. You'll then be able to submit feedback, and the BBC will use it to decide which ideas are worth developing for primetime public consumption.
BBC launches dedicated iPlayer Radio apps for iPad and Android tablets
Provided you're somewhere with a stable internet connection, it's now perfectly possible to replace your old-fashioned radio set with a tablet. Most stations have a dedicated app these days and it's easy enough to connect a pair of headphones or a cheap wireless speaker to enhance your listening. The BBC embraced this trend a couple of years back by siphoning iPlayer radio into a separate app, but now it's going one step further with dedicated apps for iPad, Kindle Fire and Android tablets. As you might expect, all three have been designed with larger screens in mind, which should make it easier to jump between stations, find archived shows and see when your favourite DJ is up next. The new tablet apps come with a "work-in-progress" label though, so the odd technical hiccup is likely. In the future, the BBC says it'll be adding features such as Favourites and Playlister too, the latter of which helps you transfer your new musical discoveries to services like Spotify.
BBC iPlayer for iOS now gives you 30 days to watch downloaded shows
One of iPlayer's great features is the ability to download all of its programmes for offline viewing. The Beeb traditionally let you download and keep shows for up to seven days, allowing you to catch up on the commute to work, but as part of its iPlayer revamp, that period was extended to 30 days. After rolling out the feature on the Xbox One and Android devices last week, iPhone and iPad users can now join in the fun. Not only will you be able to download all the programmes you've missed today and carry them over until the New Year, the new update will also let you specify your location to access regional on-demand programmes via the TV Guide. Great if you're visiting friends and family over Christmas and need some entertainment during the post-dinner lull.
BBC iPlayer arrives on Xbox One
At long last, the BBC has released an iPlayer app for the Xbox One. It's been over a year since the console debuted in the UK, and finally it's able to make good on its promise of becoming the all-in-one media hub. It makes use of the BBC's new unified iPlayer design, although the broadcaster says the app has been upscaled for 1080p displays and refined to support the new Kinect's voice commands. To coincide with its release, the BBC has also begun extending iPlayer's new 30-day catch-up period. The feature is already available in the iPlayer apps for Xbox One and Android, and is likely to roll out to other devices over the next week. If you own an Xbox 360, however, the BBC says it'll be adding 30 day catch-up and Radio 1 content in a new update coming early next year.
BBC gives Radio 1 its own video channel on iPlayer
In a bid to serve the differing radio tastes of the nation, the BBC's line-up of numerical stations have provided live broadcasts and catch-up content for a number of years. Radio 1, which primarily serves around 40 percent of Brits between the age of 15 and 24, has experimented on YouTube and various social networks to engage more with its listeners, but the lure of iPlayer appears to have proved too strong. Today, the radio station has got a new dedicated presence on the Beeb's streaming service, offering access to an array of live and on-demand video from Radio 1's live events. It launches with plenty of content, including Live Lounges with Taylor Swift, Teen Awards coverage and a brand new chart show, putting more "Watch" in the station's Listen, Watch, Share tagline.
YouView boxes finally granted the BBC's new iPlayer and red button features
The BBC's extensively redesigned iPlayer has been gradually lumbering its way onto different compatible devices since it was first launched earlier this year. YouView's hybrid Freeview/IPTV set-top boxes have, until now, been sorely neglected, which is somewhat strange given the BBC is one of YouView's principal investors. Well, better late than never, the new iPlayer has finally started rolling out to YouView set-top boxes, alongside the addition of the BBC's Connected Red Button features. If you're in possession of a YouView- or BT-issued box made by Humax (Huawei's also built a few), then these goodies will show up shortly, if not today. TalkTalk customers, however, are still playing the waiting game, though they can expect to receive the updates "in due course."
