Executives from British broadcaster the BBC have been admitting publicly for some time that its radio stations face an important challenge in the on-demand music-streaming services. Its latest response is a new app called BBC Sounds, which blends the broadcasters’ on-demand radio, podcasts and music content.
People can use the app to stream live radio; catch up on archived music shows; and browse the Beeb’s podcasts by genre. There’s also an element of recommendation: the app aims to learn each listener’s habits, and then serve up “a dozen great on-demand listens” in its ‘Recommended for You’ section.
“This is very much a first release – we wanted to get it out as early as possible to start getting feedback to help develop the app,” blogged BBC iPlayer and BBC Sounds boss Dan Taylor-Watt. “There’s a bunch of additional features we’re already busy working on (including downloads, to enable offline listening), and we’ll have lots more to add later in the year.”
This follows past announcements and launches by the BBC, from its proposal for a 50,000-track playlist-driven streaming service in 2015, through its BBC Music app in 2016.
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