Tag: BBC
BBC promises iPlayer revamp to compete with Netflix
BBC bosses have promised a total transformation of the iPlayer to compete with streaming giants. Director-general Lord Tony Hall believes the corporation can challenge the existing dominance of services like Netflix and Amazon. Quality content and curation will be at the heart of BBC plans for online platform, which will undergo the biggest revamp since…
BBC to launch Alexa rival
The BBC is developing its own Alexa-style digital voice assistant for next year which it claims is capable of understanding regional accents. ‘Beeb’ is being considered as the wake-word used to get the attention of the voice-activated technology, which is designed to work on existing devices such as smart-speakers, mobiles and TVs instead of launching…
Ofcom approves BBC plan to extend iPlayer catch-up option
Ofcom has approved the BBC’s plan to extend the iPlayer catch-up window to 12 months, subject to “certain conditions and guidance”. The broadcaster intends to change iPlayer from a 30-day catch-up service to make programmes available for 12 months as standard, with some available for longer. All children’s programming will be available for five years under…
BBC to demonstrate VR technology in UK libraries
The BBC is to give people who have never used virtual reality (VR) the chance to try it out for the first time by launching demo sessions in UK libraries. A number of experiences will be part of the demonstrations, including a documentary series set in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and a reconstruction…
BBC releases virtual reality Doctor Who story, Doctor Who: The Runaway
The BBC has produced a short animated virtual reality film of Doctor Who which will allow fans of the long-running sci-fi series to experience life aboard the Tardis from a different perspective. Doctor Who: The Runaway is a 12-minute interactive story that will put viewers up close to the action dealing with a deadly threat,…
BBC takes on Netflix with over 100 iPlayer Box Sets announced for Christmas
Andrew Davies’s classics from Pride And Prejudice to the original House Of Cards are returning for Christmas as the BBC announces its iPlayer Box Sets. The broadcaster is once again placing a raft of box sets and classic episodes on its iPlayer over Christmas – as part of plans to compete against giants such as…
People Just Do Nothing cast ‘kidnap viewers’ in BBC’s first-ever comedy VR short
Viewers are promised an up close and personal encounter with the Kurupt FM crew, as the cast of hit comedy series People Just Do Nothing 'kidnap them' in the BBC’s first-ever comedy virtual reality film. The five-minute VR film imagines the viewer as a record company boss that has been kidnapped by the crew of…
BBC launches first ever arcade game, Doctor Who Time Vortex 360
Doctor Who fans can pilot the TARDIS as it careers through the depths of the space time vortex in the BBC’s first ever 360 arcade game, Doctor Who Time Vortex 360. Fans simply need to visit bbc.in/dw360 using their smartphone or tablet and by physically moving their mobile device through 360 degrees, they will be…
BBC micro:bit computer – free to every year 7 child in UK from October
The BBC has unveiled the micro:bit, a pocket-sized codeable computer (pictured above) with built-in motion detection, compass and Bluetooth technology, which is to be given free to every child in year 7 or equivalent across the UK from October. That's approximately 1 million units. A collaboration between 29 partners, including Lancaster University, Barclays, Samsung and The…
The BBC is making a show about the making of Grand Theft Auto
Today the BBC has announced a new initiative called "Make It Digital" which is aiming to do all sorts of worthy activities with young people to encourage them to code - including the dishing out of free Micro Bit Raspberry-Pi type devices to 12 year olds. Sounds pretty good, right? And fits in with the…