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BBC podcasts on third-party apps

bbc.co.uk

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Re: BBC podcasts on third-party apps

#31

Post by lbacaj »

Technically speaking the way Podcasts work is a fascinating thing.

Most on HN May be familiar with this already but Podcasts are completely open and a creator simply publishes an RSS that they then provide to a podcast App such as iTunes so it can appear on the Apple podcast app. In exchange most of these podcast apps share any listen counts and analytics with the owner of the Podcast. However, almost always the files are hosted by the owner so the plays could also likely be counted that way. Even the artwork and everything is provided with this RSS that is completely open.

More and more platforms are popping up creating “exclusive” podcasts and trying to close the ecosystem down. Not sure if that’s what is happening here, it’s unclear from the article, but just think Podcasts are one of those last few technically open things on the internet and that’s great.

They are so open in fact I was planning on adding them to my audio App I’ve been building which lets people listen to any article right now. The more this closes up the less of an opportunity for people to create useful things and for people to find new ways to stay informed.

As a shameless self promotion if your interested in having articles read to you on the go try my app https://articulu.com

Re: BBC podcasts on third-party apps

#32

Post by newaccoutnas »

calewis wrote: post #25

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.

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)

Re: BBC podcasts on third-party apps

#33

Post by djhworld »

lbacaj wrote: post #31

Technically speaking the way Podcasts work is a fascinating thing. Most on HN May be familiar with this already but Podcasts are completely open and a creator simply publishes an RSS that they then provide to a podcast App such as iTunes so it can appear on the Apple podcast app. In exchange most of these podcast apps share any listen counts and analytics with the owner of the Podcast. However, almost always the file…

> More and more platforms are popping up creating “exclusive” podcasts and trying to close the ecosystem down.

It already is happening, some podcasts on BBC Sounds are exclusive to BBC Sounds (albeit for a time limited period)

Re: BBC podcasts on third-party apps

#34

Post by fenwick67 »

fooqux wrote: post #24
atonse wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But this brings up a good point. What is the value of google showing you the play buttons in the search results? They're trying to keep you on google's site.

>They're trying to keep you on google's site. But why? I don't see a financial motivator here, unless there is some long-game that I'm not aware of. In theory, driving users to websites in a search result is likely just going to make Google more money from displaying ads. The only thing I can currently think of is they actually are trying to improve the user experience.

If you stay on a search results page you're more likely to do another search after you're done listening, rather than browsing around on BBC's site.

Re: BBC podcasts on third-party apps

#35

Post by anc84 »

lbacaj wrote: post #31

Technically speaking the way Podcasts work is a fascinating thing. Most on HN May be familiar with this already but Podcasts are completely open and a creator simply publishes an RSS that they then provide to a podcast App such as iTunes so it can appear on the Apple podcast app. In exchange most of these podcast apps share any listen counts and analytics with the owner of the Podcast. However, almost always the file…

Patreon is full of closed off podcasts available to only the people with a paid subscribtion.

Re: BBC podcasts on third-party apps

#36

Post by ForHackernews »

fooqux wrote: post #24
atonse wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But this brings up a good point. What is the value of google showing you the play buttons in the search results? They're trying to keep you on google's site.

>They're trying to keep you on google's site. But why? I don't see a financial motivator here, unless there is some long-game that I'm not aware of. In theory, driving users to websites in a search result is likely just going to make Google more money from displaying ads. The only thing I can currently think of is they actually are trying to improve the user experience.

Why does Google do anything? They want to keep you on Google properties longer, record more "engagement" data and use it to sell ads against you.

Maybe they indirectly want to 'improve user experience' (so you're less likely to leave) but it's not their terminal value.

Re: BBC podcasts on third-party apps

#37

Post by dageshi »

eddieroger wrote: post #15
Jsharm wrote: post #8

I don't know why BBC pushes it's sounds app so hard. I get nagged to use it every time I listen through Alexa too. There's no BBC sounds smart speaker so why do they care? What do they gain from me using the app?

Because when you use their ecosystem, they get user data. They acknowledge that in their blog post: > We also want to make our programmes and services as good as they can possibly be - this means us getting hold of meaningful audience data. They claim it's because they're a public service and need to know what the public want, but there are other ways, and I'm torn on if it's a legit case or not. NPR has been trying…

As part of their public service remit they need to be able to show they're making content for all age ranges/demographics, if a big chunk of the audience is moving to podcasts, especially if that part of the audience is younger then that's a big deal for them.

Re: BBC podcasts on third-party apps

#40

Post by msquog »

fooqux wrote: post #24
atonse wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But this brings up a good point. What is the value of google showing you the play buttons in the search results? They're trying to keep you on google's site.

>They're trying to keep you on google's site. But why? I don't see a financial motivator here, unless there is some long-game that I'm not aware of. In theory, driving users to websites in a search result is likely just going to make Google more money from displaying ads. The only thing I can currently think of is they actually are trying to improve the user experience.

The adverts are right there on the page still.

Why would it be more profitable to send users to the BBC website?

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