Advanced Television

iPlayer

iPlayer trials ‘Watch With Friends’ feature

Music fans are now able to get together remotely to watch performances from Glastonbury via a new trial feature on BBC iPlayer. Viewers using the web version of the iPlayer will find a button saying ‘Watch with friends’ under any programme from The Glastonbury Experience 2021 in iPlayer’s Glastonbury collection. Viewers can click the button […]

June 24, 2021

Wimbledon returns to BBC

From June 28th, BBC audiences can once again tune again to the iconic Wimbledon tennis tournament after the event was cancelled in 2020 due to the pandemic. Barbara Slater, Director of BBC Sport, commented: “We are delighted to bring back Wimbledon, such a centrepiece event of the sporting calendar to unite the nation after what […]

June 17, 2021

BBC Programme Index improves archive access

The BBC is making its archive more accessible than ever before,  launching a new Programme Index tool with a searchable index of nearly 100 years of BBC TV and radio broadcasts. “Programme Index, like BBC Genome before it, is a spine of data – this time stretching back nearly 100 years,” explains Susannah Stevens, senior […]

June 16, 2021By Colin Mann

Can Tim Davie save the BBC?

The reputation of the BBC matters. It wants to be seen as the gold-standard of public service broadcasting, and that matters not just for the BBC and, by extension, the UK but for the whole world because, historically, the BBC has successfully projected itself as a beacon of broadcasting service that all democratic nations should […]

June 15, 2021

England v Croatia sets iPlayer record

England’s winning start to their Euro 2020 campaign on June 13th pulled in a peak TV audience of 11.6 million and a 79.2 per cent share of available viewers, and also set a new BBC iPlayer live viewing record with the game being streamed 3.9 million times. The match, which saw Raheem Sterling’s goal secure […]

June 14, 2021By Nik Roseveare

BBC unveils The Glastonbury Experience 2021

With the pandemic seeing the Glastonbury Festival cancelled for a second consecutive year, BBC Music is once again hosting a celebration of the iconic event across BBC television, BBC iPlayer, BBC radio and BBC Sounds, from June 25th to 27th. Lorna Clarke, Controller, BBC Pop Music, commented: “Summer wouldn’t be complete without a celebration of […]

June 8, 2021By Nik Roseveare

Coel makes BAFTA history

Michaela Coel became the first person in BAFTA history to win awards in the key categories of Leading Actress, Writer, Director and Mini-Series for her BBC drama, I May Destroy You. Coel picked up Leading Actress and Best Mini-Series at the BAFTA TV ceremony in London on June 6th. Last month, she won writing and […]

June 8, 2021

Bagpuss on BBC iPlayer

Iconic children’s show Bagpuss is debuting on the BBC iPlayer, with every episode arriving on May 30th. Made by Oliver Postgate and Peter Firmin, the children’s stop motion animation was first broadcast in 1974. Despite only having 13 episodes, the programme has remained hugely popular across generations. The puppet series is set in Emily’s shop, a […]

May 28, 2021By Nik Roseveare

BBC celebrates 150th Proms with return of audiences

The BBC says that this year’s Proms heralds “a summer of live music on a scale not seen since before the pandemic”. With 52 concerts over 44 days featuring 30 orchestras and ensembles, over 100 soloists and conductors and more than 2,000 musicians, this ambitious season celebrates the 150th anniversary of the event. Audiences will […]

May 27, 2021

BBC signs Diamond League deal

BBC Sport has announced a new rights deal which sees every IAAF Diamond League event live on the BBC until 2024. The new four-year deal kicks off with live coverage from Gateshead from May 23rd on BBC Two. The 2021 series will see 14 meetings in total, with a Doha meet following Gateshead on May […]

May 13, 2021