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BBC podcasts on third-party apps

bbc.co.uk

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Re: BBC podcasts on third-party apps

#111

Post by kwhitefoot »

driverdan wrote: post #105
eddieroger wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

Which is a lie. Podcasts are played directly from the source, meaning they have the stats already. The only thing they may not know are subscription rates.

I use Podcast Addict on my Moto and gpodder on Linux. In both cases I have a massive subscription list that downloads episodes daily. The server that supplies them knows only that I downloaded it, not whether or not I actually listened or that I listened to a few minutes and then abandoned the episode.

The purpose is to have a wide variety of material to listen to in my car (via Bluetooth) in which I do not have a data connection.

Re: BBC podcasts on third-party apps

#113

Post by isostatic »

djhworld wrote: post #27
Jonnax wrote: post #14

What's going on exactly? I subscribe to a few BBC podcasts on a podcast app via RSS. Is that going?

Some podcasts are exclusive to BBC sounds for a time limited period.

> BBC sounds

A new program being forced down listeners ears

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2019/jan/20/bbc-sounds-app...

.... One typically indignant fan, Nigel Metheringham, tweeted: “Bring back (the podcast) #Fortunately to an open feed, rather than using it to prop up a shoddy service.”

The loss of this favourite podcast to anyone who downloads from other sites, such as iTunes, or for listeners living abroad, has now exposed much wider dissatisfaction with BBC Sounds, which is receiving low scores on app-rating sites. Criticism focuses on the lack of a sleep-timer function for Android devices, a failure to reliably display track names, the difficulty of sharing content, on claims the search function is ineffective, and on the limited menu of content from other podcast providers.

....

Re: BBC podcasts on third-party apps

#114

Post by voxadam »

ascagnel_ wrote: post #77
mikewhy wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ah good old videogames.com. Yeah premium podcasts are already a thing. There's no need to "figure out an API to let people use their license keys on third party players", it's simply HTTP Basic authentication embedded in the URL. Should work just about anywhere.

I'm also a premium subscriber; while they used to use basic HTTP auth, they've since switched to generating revocable, per-user keys. It's both better for security and easier for podcast clients to manage.

By "revocable, per-user keys" do you mean each user is given a unique URL to download premium content from or is some type of cryptographic DRM being leveraged?

Re: BBC podcasts on third-party apps

#115

Post by nickcw »

Ah, that explains why I had a complaint from the wife that she wasn't getting new Archers episodes.

(The Archers is a long running (since 1951!) BBC Radio 4 soap opera about a fictional farming community. There are a lot of people addicted to this, including the wife.)

I had to avert this disaster as a wife with no Archers isn't worth contemplating, so I installed the BBC sounds app instead. It was my thought that the BBC pulled the content from google to get people using the BBC Sounds app instead.

The BBC Sounds app works, but it is a pretty terrible podcast app (2.2/5 stars on the Google Play store), it doesn't download and queue things, or let you order them etc.

Re: BBC podcasts on third-party apps

#117

Post by dagw »

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.

But why? I don't see a financial motivator here

If you listen via Google they not only know what you listened to but for how long you listened, which parts you skipped over or stopped listening at, and whether you listened to the ads or not. All that information has value to them. Being able to say these people googled your product within 72 hours of hearing your ad on these podcasts is very valuable.

Re: BBC podcasts on third-party apps

#118

Post by m_t »

Theodores wrote: post #79
Traster wrote: post #3

This is hilarious. Google is trying to leverage it's search & mobile OS market positions into pushing people towards its podcast app. Unfortunately for Google it has come up against one of the few entities in the world that can just turn around and say "Fuck. That." Frankly, I think this is a monopolist tactic from Google and it should result in government investigations but I have no hope that will happen. Nice to k…

Actually there is a problem with the BBC. In the UK how do you compete for news eyeballs and try and make it pay when the BBC news is for free? Imagine your business is weather forecasting, the same applies. Then there is the small matter of the license fee. Most people just pay it out of fear of being caught by one of the legendary detector vans. But you can't have a TV or a monitor that also does TV without being h…

> Most people just pay it out of fear of being caught

No, I'm sure a lot pay because having a good public service is important, even more in this day and age, compared to the Murdoch owned media you get in the UK.

Of course the BBC isn't perfect, but it doesn't mean there's nothing to appreciate.

Re: BBC podcasts on third-party apps

#119

Post by mnbvkhgvmj »

random878 wrote: post #91
cheez wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Google Podcasts is TERRIBLE compared to Google Play. The UX is just so bad. You'd expect at least some podcast-specific features like mark podcast as listened.

I haven't had a smartphone in some time, but I highly recommend AntennaPod which is available of F-Droid. Not only a great podcast app, but it respects your Freedom. It's the only thing I miss about not having a smartphone.

AntennaPod is a great app. Open source etc but it feels like a paid app in terms of polish/attention-to-detail/UX.

Re: BBC podcasts on third-party apps

#120

Post by pbhjpbhj »

AJRF wrote: post #83
Theodores wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Actually there is a problem with the BBC. In the UK how do you compete for news eyeballs and try and make it pay when the BBC news is for free? Imagine your business is weather forecasting, the same applies. Then there is the small matter of the license fee. Most people just pay it out of fear of being caught by one of the legendary detector vans. But you can't have a TV or a monitor that also does TV without being h…

Hassled for the rest of your days is a bit much. You email, send them a letter or call them or I think there is actually a website that you can register on which remove's them questioning you needing the license or not. I did it and i've not heard from them since. Not exactly rocket science.

>You email, send them a letter or call them or I think there is actually a website that you can register on which remove's them questioning you needing the license or not. //

They used to send a postage paid envelope, and you could return their "you're a criminal" letter indicating that in fact their supposition was incorrect.

Now, they don't include an envelope IIRC, certainly not postage, so you have to pay [a small amount] every time they decide to accuse you falsely of being a criminal. I'm against that in principle.

So, I thought, I'll waste my own time and go online and fill out the form ... except they demand additional PII from you. Which I'm not happy about giving to Capita, and shouldn't need to, name and address should be sufficient for the legal purposes here.

Thus, we're left waiting for them to make the next move. Which they did, they sent someone around: I stated we didn't watch broadcast TV and don't need a license. They went away.

So, that's the end of it, right?

Nope, they sent two people the next time, who asked for my wife (clue: license fee is payable against premises), didn't show ID, nor identify themselves in any way. When asked they said they "needed to come in" to check we didn't have a TV, they have no need to and no legal right of access [without a warrant]. When I made the same statement as before "we don't need a license ..., not using your services" they threatened "we'll just keep coming".

Great huh.

What really grates with me is that you have to register your details to even use the services on iPlayer now, so they would see clearly at the BBC end that we've stopped using their service.

So, they presumably will continue to waste money until we get an injunction against them for hassling us.

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