BBC Claims Success For Radio Download Service
A recent trial which saw BBC Radio content made available for download has been hailed as a success by the Corporation, with more than 70,000 downloads of Radio 4’s In Our Time during November, as tech-savvy listeners welcomed the latest ‘podcasting’ service.
The new service’s trial run involved In Our Time, featuring Melvyn Bragg and guests exploring the history of ideas, made available to download for seven days after broadcast, as well as being made available via live and ‘on demand’ streaming.
The term ‘podcasting’ describes the practice of downloading audio content for listening at a later date on a portable music player, such as an iPod and operates as an extension of downloading, whereby listeners can have new programmes automatically delivered to their computer as soon as they are posted on the web.
The mp3 download experiment was designed to test the public’s demand for radio downloads, following the BBC’s first use of the technology earlier in the year for The Reith Lectures. On that occasion, the programmes received around 50,000 downloads over a ten-week period.
Commenting on the latest trial Simon Nelson, controller of BBC Radio and Music Interactive, said: “We’ve been surprised and delighted by the demand for downloads of what is one of our most challenging programmes; it demonstrates the public’s appetite for new ways of listening.”
He added: “We recognise that we can’t offer all programmes in this way but we look forward to working with rights holders to explore ways we could learn from developments like this to drive radio listening forward.”
The BBC recently appointed research firm GfK to enhance its audience reaction measurement system, hoping to enhance gain more valuable and immediate data on its television and radio programmes through a new online system (see BBC Hires GfK To Enhance Audience Measurement).
BBC: 020 8743 8000 www.bbc.co.uk
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