DG Hall outlines a “personalised BBC”
October 8, 2013
Outlining his plans for the future of the BBC, Director General Tony Hall promised it would have a closer relationship with its audience going forward, treating them as “owners” rather than licence fee payers.
A “personalised BBC” will allow viewers to rate and discuss programmes, and that “will influence what we commission,” he said.
Hall’s key points included:
– The BBC’s iPlayer will feature new functionality that will allow a more bespoke experience for every user. There will be a 30-day catch-up window – subject to trust approval – iPlayer-only curated content and channels, and the chance for users to be the scheduler by accessing content before broadcast at times that suit them.
– The Corporation will soon launch “BBC Store” – a new VoD service which will offer users in the UK the chance to buy, watch, and keep a selection of BBC programmes.
– Building on the coverage of the Olympics, the BBC will deliver live experiences to audiences made up of video, audio, text and stats, across four screens – TV, computer, mobile and tablet.
– From next year, this multi-layered service will cover the Winter Olympics, the World Cup, the FA Cup and Commonwealth Games, alongside major festivals like the Proms, the Edinburgh Festival and Glastonbury. It will also support big television events and major news events such as election night.
– A new digital service branded “BBC PlayLister” will allow listeners to pick and tag any piece of music they hear on the BBC and listen to it later. PlayLister will partner with with streaming services so that listeners can keep all their favourite music in one place, listening to it across whatever devices they have.
Hall also stated his ambition to double the BBC’s global audience by 2022 from 250 million users a week to 500 million.