BBC2 To Broadcast Online In 2006
BBC2 has announced plans to be the first of the corporation’s channels to be broadcast over the internet, allowing the broadcaster to reach viewers via mobile phones and the internet.
Speaking at a conference organised by Broadcast magazine, Roly Keating, controller of BBC Two claimed that the channel would be “in the front line” of launching on broadband, offering a online version of BBC2 mixing “simulcast programming” and “comprehensive catch-up.”
Keating told delegates that the convergence of media devices should be looked at as an opportunity and not a threat, saying: “I believe that BBC2 in the broadband age could flourish in ways unimaginable in the first 40 years on its existence.”
The BBC is planning to unveil a pilot of its plans next year, with a simulcast of BBC1 and BBC2, letting viewers access programmes online at the same time as they go out part of the programme download trials.
Keating also claimed that BBC2 would be the first of the five main terrestrial channels to become digital only in the weeks immediately before the planned analogue switchover, planned for between 2008-2012.
Speaking at the MediaTelINSIGHT TV Technology seminar, held earlier this year, Rahul Chakkara, Head of BBCi, outlined some of the Corporation’s new devices leading the way in interactive television, helping the BBC to keep ahead of the game in terms of the TV technology market (see NewsLine).
One of the technology’s he discussed was the BBC’s own PVR box, called Pandora, which has the ability to hold the entire public service broadcasting for the last nine days.
Chakkara explained: “We have zillions of hours of content available to you. The challenge of Pandora is how we get the content in front of you and make it easier to navigate – from the BBC’s point of view that’s the hardest challenge.”
The BBCi boss predicted PVR-enabled households to greatly rise over the next few months, with Christmas boosting sales of the devices, leading Chakkara to predict PVR penetration to surpass previous estimates.
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