BBC to create 'personalised radio' that switches between stations
The BBC offers a mixture of local and national radio stations aimed at different types of listeners. Want the latest chart-toppers? Radio 1 has your back. Prefer something classical? Just switch to Radio 3 instead. The problem is that many Brits have eclectic music tastes spanning more than one station. To stop listeners from tuning out, the broadcaster is planning a personalised radio service -- a single stream that intelligently switches between live and on-demand broadcasting based on your preferences. So let's say you like the Today programme on BBC Radio 4, which runs from 6 to 9am. But you also love Lauren Laverne's show on Radio 6 Music, which kicks off at 10am -- the service would, in theory, change stations automatically, and maybe throw in a podcast for the hour in between.
"This will be based on understanding what you normally listen to, what you like, what you don't like and linking this to factors such as time, location and what device you're listening on," the BBC says in a blog post. If such a smart, dynamic service sounds too good to be true, that's probably because it is -- at least right now, anyway. The BBC says it'll be taking "some early steps" to put it all together over the next year. It's certainly a novel concept, and something Apple can't copy unless it creates a bunch of extra radio stations.
