Upcoming changes to BBC interactive services on TV
Matthew Postgate
Chief Technology and Product Officer
Today, you might have noticed that we’ve started communicating some changes we’re making next year to our interactive services on TV.
What’s changing?
From the end of January 2020, we’re making three changes.
Firstly, we’ll be removing the text-based element of our red button service - which currently allows you to access text-based news and other information by pressing the red button on your TV remote control.
Secondly, we’ll be consolidating our apps on connected TV (that is TVs connected to the internet). Currently we have three (BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport and BBC News) but from early next year, we’ll be retiring the BBC News and BBC Sport apps. BBC iPlayer will become the home of much of the video content that is currently available on the BBC Sport and BBC News apps on TVs.
And finally, following the launch of the BBC Sounds app and website last year - we’ll be adding a BBC Sounds app for Connected TVs, bringing over 80,000 hours of radio, music and podcasts from across the BBC into a personalised experience on your TV.
Why are we making these changes?
We want everyone to be able to use the BBC’s services and enjoy our content, but financial pressures and the continued need to spend the licence fee as effectively as possible mean we sometimes need to make difficult decisions.
Unfortunately, to keep red button text services would require significant technical effort and cost, and would come at the expense of investing in other services.
And just to stress, it is just the red-button text service that is closing. The video elements - such as allowing you to watch extra courts at Wimbledon, or stages from Glastonbury - will continue. The vast majority of the text information will continue to be available on the BBC website, BBC News and Sport mobile apps - and of course we have 24-hour news on the BBC News channel.
As mentioned, we’ll be communicating these changes further on our products and marketing to ensure people know that they are happening - and where to go for further information.
Thanks very much for reading.