1 00:00:00,267 --> 00:00:02,777 James Cridland: Hello, I'm James Cridland, the radio futurologist. 2 00:00:02,787 --> 00:00:06,057 And every week or so I write a newsletter all about 3 00:00:06,237 --> 00:00:09,597 international radio trends and all of that. And this is an 4 00:00:09,597 --> 00:00:12,957 article I've just written on November the 27th called BBC 5 00:00:12,957 --> 00:00:17,594 Sounds, a Muddled Strategy. BBC sounds. 6 00:00:17,775 --> 00:00:18,535 Clip: BBC Sounds 7 00:00:18,736 --> 00:00:20,776 James Cridland: is a bit of a puzzle, though you wouldn't know 8 00:00:20,776 --> 00:00:24,616 from visiting the BBC Sounds website. BBC Sounds is also an 9 00:00:24,616 --> 00:00:27,946 app for your phone and intended to be, I think the primary place 10 00:00:27,946 --> 00:00:30,976 you find BBC audio content. That's music... 11 00:00:31,203 --> 00:00:32,643 Clip: radio... podcasts. 12 00:00:31,899 --> 00:00:35,092 James Cridland: More than 90% of podcasts listen to 13 00:00:35,092 --> 00:00:38,002 on a mobile phone. So it's curious that links to download 14 00:00:38,002 --> 00:00:42,307 the app aren't front and centre on the BBC Sounds website. Try 15 00:00:42,307 --> 00:00:46,087 listening to the In Our Time podcast from the BBC on a third 16 00:00:46,087 --> 00:00:46,837 party app... 17 00:00:47,045 --> 00:00:49,435 Clip: This is In Our Time from BBC Radio Four 18 00:00:49,529 --> 00:00:51,539 James Cridland: And you'll discover it's time delayed by 19 00:00:51,539 --> 00:00:56,279 four weeks in order to make you "enjoy it first, directly from 20 00:00:56,279 --> 00:01:01,289 the BBC". Watch BBC News, however - a commercial television channel 21 00:01:01,289 --> 00:01:05,249 here in Australia, but with copious unsold ad breaks - and the 22 00:01:05,249 --> 00:01:08,999 filler promos for the Global News podcast tell you to listen 23 00:01:08,999 --> 00:01:09,509 wherever you 24 00:01:09,565 --> 00:01:11,050 Clip: Get your BBC podcasts. 25 00:01:11,304 --> 00:01:14,904 James Cridland: No promotion of BBC Sounds on the BBC's most 26 00:01:14,904 --> 00:01:19,453 watched global television channel. We greatly value off 27 00:01:19,453 --> 00:01:23,473 platform listener consumption to help us find new audiences for 28 00:01:23,473 --> 00:01:27,793 BBC content, says Mary Hough, Head of Growth and Discovery for 29 00:01:27,793 --> 00:01:32,255 BBC Sounds in a blog post that simultaneously announces more 30 00:01:32,255 --> 00:01:36,215 restrictions to curtail off platform listener consumption. 31 00:01:37,070 --> 00:01:40,520 There are plenty of shows now being time delayed, including the 32 00:01:40,520 --> 00:01:43,700 biggest shows from the broadcaster. News programmes 33 00:01:43,700 --> 00:01:47,270 which "serve a strong public service purpose" aren't time-delayed, 34 00:01:47,270 --> 00:01:51,350 although Moneybox, builled as "the latest news from the World 35 00:01:51,350 --> 00:01:56,630 of personal finance", is. Every new podcast promoted by the BBC 36 00:01:56,630 --> 00:02:00,860 is only ever promoted on press releases as being on BBC Sounds, 37 00:02:01,280 --> 00:02:04,280 so I can't even tell you whether a new podcast I'm mentioning is 38 00:02:04,280 --> 00:02:07,340 going to be available on a podcast app without going back 39 00:02:07,340 --> 00:02:10,670 and asking a PR person who'd rather that off-platform apps 40 00:02:10,670 --> 00:02:15,401 didn't exist. Yet we're also encouraged to listen on off 41 00:02:15,401 --> 00:02:20,081 platform apps. BBC Podcasts has a paid podcast subscription on 42 00:02:20,081 --> 00:02:24,701 Apple Podcasts, launched at $2.99 a month in US money, but 43 00:02:24,701 --> 00:02:29,351 which has quietly changed to $4.99 a month, I notice. But why 44 00:02:29,351 --> 00:02:32,741 pay that when many of the same shows are available for free 45 00:02:32,741 --> 00:02:36,821 with no ads on BBC Sounds, which is a free download in the Apple 46 00:02:36,821 --> 00:02:41,861 App Store? BBC Studios has inked a new deal with Triton Digital 47 00:02:41,861 --> 00:02:45,761 for podcast monetization, so the BBC stands to benefit from 48 00:02:45,761 --> 00:02:47,861 podcast listeners, which are all... 49 00:02:47,843 --> 00:02:49,553 Clip: Supported by ads outside the UK. 50 00:02:49,950 --> 00:02:53,730 James Cridland: Yet the BBC Sounds app has no advertising in 51 00:02:53,730 --> 00:02:56,850 it, and the possibilities to earn more revenue from 52 00:02:56,850 --> 00:03:00,990 advertising are hobbled by the BBC time delaying some of its 53 00:03:00,990 --> 00:03:07,054 biggest shows. And BBC Sounds isn't just BBC content. It now 54 00:03:07,054 --> 00:03:11,584 has two shows from Goalhanger which are ad supported elsewhere, but 55 00:03:11,584 --> 00:03:15,934 the BBC gets these shows ad free: but this time, after a time 56 00:03:15,934 --> 00:03:20,404 delay of its own within BBC Sounds. I'm really unclear why 57 00:03:20,404 --> 00:03:24,596 the licence fee payer is paying for the BBC to play these shows 58 00:03:24,596 --> 00:03:28,136 and strip the ads out when they can get these shows elsewhere. 59 00:03:29,173 --> 00:03:33,043 And it's a bit of a crapshoot as to what works globally too. BBC 60 00:03:33,043 --> 00:03:37,333 Radio One Dance, an online only stream, is available globally on 61 00:03:37,333 --> 00:03:42,343 the BBC Sounds app, yet outside the UK, BBC Radio 3 Unwind is not 62 00:03:42,343 --> 00:03:46,033 visible on the app, but is visible on the website where it 63 00:03:46,033 --> 00:03:49,573 kicks up a "Not available in your location" error if you try 64 00:03:49,573 --> 00:03:54,613 to play it. Radio three Unwind's Music mixes are confusingly 65 00:03:54,613 --> 00:03:59,323 available globally, with a logo for a station we can't see. The 66 00:03:59,323 --> 00:04:00,973 opportunity to download... 67 00:04:00,956 --> 00:04:03,716 Clip: Download or subscribe to your favourite music shows on 68 00:04:03,716 --> 00:04:05,126 the BBC Sounds app... 69 00:04:05,155 --> 00:04:07,555 James Cridland: ..is promoted in the front of every Radio six 70 00:04:07,555 --> 00:04:11,815 music mix. Yet the download button isn't available for music 71 00:04:11,815 --> 00:04:17,125 mixes or catch up radio outside the UK. Audio of the latest BBC 72 00:04:17,125 --> 00:04:20,455 news headlines is prominently promoted on the front page but 73 00:04:20,455 --> 00:04:23,575 doesn't work. It can only be played within the UK, says the 74 00:04:23,575 --> 00:04:28,158 app. Yet every other item in the news playlist is playable. The 75 00:04:28,158 --> 00:04:32,088 front page item Discover more from the BBC takes us to a page 76 00:04:32,088 --> 00:04:36,408 promoting lots of lovely links to the iPlayer that no, we don't 77 00:04:36,408 --> 00:04:41,705 get. I'm sure there's a strategy here somewhere. But, to me, here's 78 00:04:41,705 --> 00:04:46,685 a guess. Like BBC iPlayer, BBC Sounds is run by the domestic 79 00:04:46,685 --> 00:04:50,195 BBC, as evidenced by the fact that the website address doesn't 80 00:04:50,195 --> 00:04:54,988 change from bbc.co.uk to BBC.com when you go there outside 81 00:04:54,988 --> 00:04:58,948 the UK, and there are no ads within the app or on the website. 82 00:04:59,398 --> 00:05:02,458 And because it's a domestic service, it isn't really for the 83 00:05:02,458 --> 00:05:07,228 likes of you and me any more who live outside the UK. So I guess 84 00:05:07,228 --> 00:05:11,788 that like BBC iPlayer, BBC Sounds will also not be 85 00:05:11,788 --> 00:05:15,238 available internationally. We'll be left with the BBC World 86 00:05:15,238 --> 00:05:19,168 Service, possibly within the main BBC app and the podcast 87 00:05:19,168 --> 00:05:20,698 output wherever we get our... 88 00:05:20,836 --> 00:05:22,006 Clip: BBC podcasts. 89 00:05:22,152 --> 00:05:24,042 James Cridland: Available everywhere with ads and without 90 00:05:24,042 --> 00:05:27,732 time delays. And that might be why the BBC is trying to carry 91 00:05:27,732 --> 00:05:33,312 ads on podcasts within the UK on third party platforms, since it 92 00:05:33,312 --> 00:05:38,427 enables them to do this cleanly everywhere. When we lose access 93 00:05:38,427 --> 00:05:42,207 to BBC Sounds we'll also, by and large, lose access to the BBC's 94 00:05:42,207 --> 00:05:46,197 domestic radio stations. Those only exist internationally 95 00:05:46,197 --> 00:05:48,987 because they've always been available that way, but they 96 00:05:48,987 --> 00:05:52,797 cost money to stream overseas and the music rights amnesty 97 00:05:52,797 --> 00:05:56,577 that they enjoy goes away as soon as the BBC starts 98 00:05:56,577 --> 00:06:00,327 commercializing the streams. Now, I can't imagine this going down 99 00:06:00,327 --> 00:06:04,767 very well, but it does seem the most sensible strategy. And at 100 00:06:04,767 --> 00:06:08,427 least I have one, which is more than, to this overseas observer, 101 00:06:08,817 --> 00:06:13,701 the BBC appear to. You can read more from me at my website. 102 00:06:13,711 --> 00:06:18,601 james.cridland.net/blog And until next time, keep 103 00:06:18,601 --> 00:06:19,021 listening.