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Having worked at the BBC several times it’s yet again insular thinking. In short, they’ve spend a load of (wasted cash) on a proprietary app that is useless, b

Having worked at the BBC several times it’s yet again insular thinking. In short, they’ve spend a load of (wasted cash) on a proprietary app that is useless, but some “strategy” dork - who’s never actually built anything - thinks he can get Google to change. Good luck with that.

Neil44 8y ago
I really like the BBC Sounds app, I know it holds a selection of high quality content that I like, as opposed to a firehose of any old thing like google et al.
newaccoutnas 8y ago
The thing is, generally, they iterate quickly and it becomes less crappy over time. This has happened with lots of their products. Everytime the News frontpage got changed everyone lost their shit, however if you look back now at the older designs you see it was a falacy holding on to them. I'm not saying Sounds is perfect (there's been some vitriol), but it wouldn't be out of the ordinary if it improved based on feedback. (Also an ex-beeb employee)
- calewis 8y ago
  BBC news is separate division and has a strong leader (like sport). BBC design is obsessed with making everything look the same, it’s been going bland for years. BBC3 was another missed opportunity like this one. The walled gardens have already been built.
C1sc0cat 8y ago
The BBC has some some legal issues viz a viz BBC World Wide here its why iplayer only works in the UK
- jamescridland 8y ago
  However, BBC Podcasts are available globally - indeed, when listening outside the UK, they contain advertising.
johnnycab 8y ago
I agree with the navel gazing and blinkered thinking prevelant at the Beeb. I tried the BBC Sounds app, once I learnt about their intention to phase-out the excellent standalone iPlayer Radio app. The sound quality was markedly worse for live radio and coupled with a haphazard UI/UX - the app just got deleted. Also, there is no dearth of apps to consume podcasts e.g. I use the native Podcasts app on iOS and Deezer/Spotify on Android. BBC Sounds does not bring anything new or radical to the table. https://www.wired.co.uk/article/bbc-sounds-iplayer-radio-podcast https://www.wired.co.uk/article/bbc-sounds-iplayer-radio-pod...

Neil44 8y ago

I really like the BBC Sounds app, I know it holds a selection of high quality content that I like, as opposed to a firehose of any old thing like google et al.

newaccoutnas 8y ago

The thing is, generally, they iterate quickly and it becomes less crappy over time. This has happened with lots of their products. Everytime the News frontpage got changed everyone lost their shit, however if you look back now at the older designs you see it was a falacy holding on to them. I'm not saying Sounds is perfect (there's been some vitriol), but it wouldn't be out of the ordinary if it improved based on feedback. (Also an ex-beeb employee)

calewis 8y ago
BBC news is separate division and has a strong leader (like sport). BBC design is obsessed with making everything look the same, it’s been going bland for years. BBC3 was another missed opportunity like this one. The walled gardens have already been built.

C1sc0cat 8y ago

The BBC has some some legal issues viz a viz BBC World Wide here its why iplayer only works in the UK

jamescridland 8y ago
However, BBC Podcasts are available globally - indeed, when listening outside the UK, they contain advertising.

johnnycab 8y ago

I agree with the navel gazing and blinkered thinking prevelant at the Beeb. I tried the BBC Sounds app, once I learnt about their intention to phase-out the excellent standalone iPlayer Radio app. The sound quality was markedly worse for live radio and coupled with a haphazard UI/UX - the app just got deleted. Also, there is no dearth of apps to consume podcasts e.g. I use the native Podcasts app on iOS and Deezer/Spotify on Android. BBC Sounds does not bring anything new or radical to the table. https://www.wired.co.uk/article/bbc-sounds-iplayer-radio-podcast https://www.wired.co.uk/article/bbc-sounds-iplayer-radio-pod...