UK Radio

Radioplayer Celebrates First Birthday

Mon, 19 Mar 2012 19:12:38 +0000

Radioplayer, the UK on-line listening platform for radio, this month celebrates its first anniversary with a landmark seven million unique users, a major marketing campaign, and detailed plans for the roll-out of Radioplayer onto mobile devices.

The Radioplayer app is expected to go to market this summer and will be available on Apple (iOS) and Android phones initially. Developed by Radioplayer partners and ‘All In Media’, the app will be as simple to use as a radio, with effortless discovery of new material, and clever ways for stations to capitalise on attracting new listeners.

Michael Hill, Managing Director of Radioplayer said: “Our first year has smashed expectations. We thought we’d have 3-4m users, and we’ve doubled that. We aimed to focus on computers, but we’re now rolling out to mobiles and TVs. And we never dreamed the model would spread beyond the UK.”

The marketing campaign broke on March 12th with a series of radio ads, tailored to run on Classic FM, Absolute Radio, Smooth Radio, and Real Radio - which will remind listeners that they can hear their favourite station at work through their PC, using Radioplayer. The integrated marketing campaign will also run across dozens of other Radioplayer stations.

Radioplayer Worldwide is also being launched later this month, in response to demand from around the world for the UK to share its groundbreaking partnership model. Heads of Terms have already been signed with Russia, and licensing negotiations are progressing with several more countries. Revenues generated will flow back to UK Radioplayer to be re-invested, keeping the cost of development as low as possible for the UK radio industry.

In addition to the launch of the Radioplayer mobile app, a range of apps is also being developed for connected TV platforms, kicking off with YouView, launching later this year. Radioplayer have partnered with UK firm, ‘Capablue’ , to help develop the Radioplayer experience for TVs.

And Radioplayer is stimulating innovation in radio content, by making it easier for stations to get clips and programmes to their listeners via simple podcast feeds. A major upgrade to the Radioplayer console, led by Sheffield firm ‘G Media’, has enabled this new ‘click a clip’ service. It’s already attracted the attention of technology start-ups like ‘Audioboo’, who can see the potential for growing new types of short-form radio.

Tim Davie, Head of Audio at the BBC said: "The success of the Radioplayer shows the value of our strategy to grow the whole sector through partnership. The latest round of innovation will ensure it keeps setting the pace."

Andrew Harrison, Chairman of Radioplayer added: “Radioplayer was launched nearly a year ago in an unprecedented display of industry co-ordination. It has grown steadily during that time to its seven million unique users today. Our next steps will be to work on behalf of the industry to take Radioplayer onto new platforms, ensuring radio is well represented in areas such as connected TVs and apps.”

Organisation Representing Women in Radio to Launch at Radio Festival

Mon, 31 Oct 2011 07:20:55 +0000

On Tuesday November 1st Sound Women will launch at the Radio Festival in Manchester.

Sound Women is the new voice of women in UK audio, which celebrates women working in the radio industry. You can find out more about it, including its aims, at www.soundwomen.co.uk.

Sound Women will launch with a short film made by journalist Miranda Sawyer and producer Rebecca Maxted, featuring broadcasters Victoria Derbyshire, Annie Mac, Gemma Cairney, Margherita Taylor and Angie Greaves talking about their own experiences, and why they believe Sound Women is needed:

“When I heard about Sound Women it just made complete sense. It was just like, why hasn’t anyone done this before? It’s not about ‘men are crap and women are better’ it’s just about equality and women getting the same opportunities and pay that men get in radio.”- Annie Mac, presenter BBC Radio 1

“It’s always baffled me as to why the majority of listeners to radio are women, but a minority of presenters.” - Angie Greaves, presenter Magic 105.4FM

“Is it because women just aren’t good enough? Is it because we don’t push ourselves enough? Is it because we’re not clever enough? Is it because radio bosses are really conservative? Is it because listeners are really conservative, and they need to hear a wizened older man asking very tough questions of a politician whereas the female sidekick just laughs at the X Factor last night? It’s just absurd.” - Victoria Derbyshire, presenter BBC Radio 5live

“When I first came to 1Xtra, it was a shock. It was pretty much all men. If Sound Women had existed, I might have sent them an email!” - Gemma Cairney, presenter BBC Radio 1Xtra

The launch coincides with the launch of Tuning Out, a new Skillset report for Sound Women, which outlines what life is like for women working in radio. Some key revelations are:

• Women working in radio are better qualified than men (73% have degrees, compared to 60% men)
• But they’ll be paid less (earning on average £2,200 less each year)
• Are less likely to make it to the top (women make up just 34% of senior managers and only 17% at Board level)
• And by the time they’re 35, many will have gone (60% of men in radio are aged over 35, compared to 50% of women).

Skillset’s executive director, Kate O’Connor, said: “We hope that this report will stimulate debate around the issue of female representation in our industry, and are extremely pleased to be working as a founding member of Sound Women to highlight these important issues.”

Sound Women are also introducing a mentoring scheme for 30 Sound Women, which will be run in partnership with the BBC Academy.

BBC Radio 4’s Fi Glover has written a personal ‘welcome’ blog that will be on the Sound Women website before the launch.

And Sound Women will also be revealing ‘The 200 List’ - a roll call of truly inspirational women working in radio who have joined the panel. It includes star names like BBC Radio 2’s Zoe Ball, Capital Breakfast’s Lisa Snowdon and BBC 6 Music’s Lauren Laverne, as well as some of the most influential women in radio production, and the unsung heroines who make everything happen.

Radioplayer Launches Facebook Application

Sun, 04 Sep 2011 12:46:27 +0000

Radioplayer, the online listening platform for radio, has launched a Facebook app which enables millions of Facebook users to share their radio listening and engage in social chat around radio content.

The app makes it easy to listen to UK Radio from within Facebook, share your favourite stations and programmes with your friends via your wall, and see what other people in your area have been listening to.

There are now more than 250 stations in Radioplayer, many with a considerable presence on Facebook via fan pages and group pages, and they will be invited to promote and embrace the new Facebook Radioplayer app.

Michael Hill, Managing Director of Radioplayer commented: “Less than 6 months ago, we put ‘UK Radio in one place’ on your computer. Now we’re showing 30m UK Facebook users that radio is a perfect companion, while you’re chatting with friends”.

Andrew Harrison, Chairman of Radioplayer added: “These latest developments are part of a long-term strategy which will see Radioplayer form a vital component of the radio industry’s multiplatform future alongside DAB and FM.”

The Facebook Radioplayer app has been created collaboratively, with Folder Media as the lead developers, Unique Interactive providing technical support, station data feeds from Media UK, and considerable input from Radioplayer partner groups and Facebook themselves.

Other potential roll-out plans could see Radioplayer available on mobile devices, including smart phones and tablet computers, and Radioplayer is already confirmed as a content advisory partner for the YouView ‘connected TV’ project, set to launch in 2012.

All BBC national and local stations as well as commercial radio, including stations from Global, GMG Radio, Bauer, Absolute Radio, and UTV are available on Radioplayer, as well as hundreds of independent, student and community stations.

RadioPlayer Hits Nearly 6 Million Users

Tue, 07 Jun 2011 09:15:56 +0000

Radioplayer, the online listening partnership between the BBC and commercial radio, has achieved instant impact since its launch eight weeks ago.

Early ‘snap-shot’ figures show Radioplayer with 5.7 million unique users over a four week period, launching between them, 22.5 million listening sessions.

Radioplayer is currently working with RAJAR (the industry body responsible for measuring radio audiences) to validate and interpret the new usage figures to an agreed metrics framework.

The rapid roll-out of Radioplayer has continued with 238 stations now participating, up from 157 at launch, and many more signed up to join in the coming weeks.

The launch of a ‘player building tool’ this week is also expected to further increase the number of smaller stations signing up to join Radioplayer. The ‘tool’ will enable stations to produce their own Radioplayer consoles comparable in look and design to those made by the larger groups such as the BBC and Global, making it even easier for Ofcom licenced, smaller community and student radio stations to join.

UK Radioplayer Managing Director Michael Hill said: “Growing digital radio is a long game, but we now have two magic ingredients. A simple, consistent Radioplayer with millions of users, and an industry working collaboratively on its digital future. It’s a great start.”

Andrew Harrison, Chairman of Radioplayer commented: “This is a really encouraging first set of figures for Radioplayer as it starts to grow a solid listener base. We look forward to building on this very positive foundation to create something that serves both industry and listeners alike.”

Sony Radio Academy Awards 2011 Winners Announced

Tue, 10 May 2011 08:35:21 +0000

The gold, silver and bronze winners of the Sony Radio Academy Awards, the UK’s most prestigious radio accolades, were announced Monday evening at London’s Grosvenor House Hotel, hosted by Chris Evans.

In addition to the 36 Award categories, the Academy bestowed the Special Award to legendary Annie Nightingale and The Gold Award to the inimitable Jenni Murray.

The judges said of Annie Nightingale: “In recognition of more than 40 years of exceptional broadcasting including her breakthrough achievements, her championship of the new, and the inspiration she has given to music makers and broadcasters alike."

Jenni Murray was lauded: “For a career of exemplary broadcasting, for her incisive yet sensitive interviewing skills, her championship of the woman’s perspective and the inspiration she has given to others.”

This year’s ceremony, celebrating 30 years of excellence in radio, reflected a great year for speech radio, especially in the sporting arena. talkSPORT played a blinder, not only scoring their first ever win in the mighty Station of the Year but doing the treble with their Controller Moz Dee crowned Station Programme of the Year and ‘FIFA World Cup 2010’ taking gold for Best Promotional/Advertising Campaign. The judges observed that: “Moz has shown exceptional leadership this year as talkSPORT has grown in stature and sound.” Sporting rivals BBC Radio Five live also had lots to cheer about winning a total of six golds, the highest number for any BBC station. Star strikers for Five live, were Nicky Campbell and Shelagh Fogarty carrying off the hotly contested Breakfast Show of the Year (10 million plus) with the judges commenting: “ This is truly populist radio, created by Gold standard journalists”, Colin Murray’s ‘Fighting Talk’ making him number one for Best Sports Programme and triple nominee, Victoria Derbyshire, taking the honours in Best News & Current Affairs Programme.

Radio 2’s Jeremy Vine was the evening’s sole double gold winner, topping the podium for both Speech Broadcaster of the Year and Best Interview of the Year, with the citation saying: “A broadcaster at the top of his trade, with intimate knowledge of his subject, he dissects Gordon Brown then uses the infamous ‘”She’s a bigot” tape to hammer home the final nail in the prime-ministerial coffin.”

A Rolling Stone gathers a Gold with Ronnie Wood’s winning riff as Music Radio Personality of the Year and Frank Skinner beats Moyles and Westwood to Best Entertainment Programme, two of three Golds , three Silvers and a Bronze for a beaming Absolute Radio. And Radio 1’s Zane Lowe added ‘ record-breaker’ to his job description as he took his fourth Gold for Music Broadcaster of the Year.

The judges citation for Ronnie Wood highlighted that he is ”an amazing character with a really innovative programme. Ronnie has lived the life of a thousand men and you feel like a child sitting at his feet as he unfolds his rarified story book.” While of Frank Skinner, they noted that he “is a natural host, warm and inclusive, fantastic at getting the best from those who appear with him.”

One of the most popular winners on the night was BBC London 94.9’s and 5 live’s Danny Baker, who became Speech Radio Personality of the Year, for being “A true original. A personality who’s found new and innovative ways to use the techniques of radio, whether he’s delivering a unique verbal barrage or creating an endless stream of compelling ideas….” Turning base metal into Gold was physicist Brian Cox for Radio 4 in Best Speech Programme, and there was more excitement for the Station as Matthew Price got the nod for News Journalist of the Year.

Others with that winning feeling were Absolute Radio’s Annabel Port, who became Best On-Air Contributor with the judges praising her as “A naturally funny storyteller whose contributions are hugely entertaining and perfectly pitched.” Also BBC Wiltshire’s Graham Mack, for Breakfast Show of the Year (under 10 million), Radio 2’s Simon Mayo for Best Music Programme and Radio 3’s Jez Nelson for Best Specialist Music Programme. BBC Radio 5 live presenter Robbie Savage walked away with this year’s Sony DAB Rising Star Award, the night’s only people’s choice award, with Robbie Savage rallying the support of listeners to receive thousands of votes – the most in the awards history - to secure him the title.

Radio stations the length and breadth of the country were honoured throughout the night, including an impressive win for Real Radio North East in the Best News Special for ‘Raoul Moat – The Final Hours’. Central FM (103.1) took Gold for Station of the Year (Under 300,000), BBC Radio Derby triumphed in Station of the Year (300,000 – 1 million), Gold for Station of the Year (1 million plus) was scooped by 105.4 Real Radio North West and Digital Station of the Year was awarded to Fun Kids.

Other golden moments included Kiss 100’s win for Best Station Imaging, ‘BBC Introducing’ for Best Use of Multiplatform, BBC 6 Music’s victory in Best Music Special with TBI’s ‘The John Bonham Story’, Best Internet Programme went to Answer Me This Podcast, Classic FM won Best Use of Branded Content for Alex Masterly with Towry and ‘The Jason Byrne Comedy Show’ won Best Comedy for Radio 2.

The nominations for Best Community Programming all highlighted very powerful issues, such as mental illness, prison, serving in Afghanistan and HIV, but it was BBC Radio Berkshire’s ‘Warning: May Contain Nuts” that most impressed the judges: ‘By bringing together those with mental illness alongside stand up comedians, the station showed real integration can be achieved through laughter.”

Tim Blackmore, Chairman of the Sony Radio Academy Awards said:
“In spite of the continuing emergence of new platforms and of video ubiquity, the creative use of sound continues to attract massive and regular support from the vast majority of the British public. This is entirely down to the skills and talents of radio professionals in all sectors of the audio business and it is these awards that continue to highlight their ever impressive levels of achievement.”

Presenters of the Awards included Beverly Knight, James Cracknell, Ed Byrne, Duncan Bannatyne, Chipmunk, Pamela Stephenson, Rachel Stevens, Natasha Kaplinsky, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Maxine Peake, James Morrison, Kirsty Wark, The Feeling and Wynne Evans.

Judges for the 2011 Sony Radio Academy Awards included Richard Bacon, Moz Dee, Clive Dickens, Sue Lawley, Mary Anne Hobbs, Hardeep Singh Kohli and Miranda Sawyer.

BBC and Commercial Radio in World First with Launch of Radioplayer

Sun, 03 Apr 2011 13:55:54 +0000

Radioplayer, the online listening platform for radio, has gone live in a ground-breaking partnership between the BBC and commercial radio, representing a pan-industry world first by bringing radio together online in one place.

Internet radio, currently attracting around 4.5 million listeners a week, is set to be transformed with the launch of Radioplayer, which will offer UK radio in one place, a cross-industry search function and the ability to save your favourite stations and programmes for ease of use.

Radioplayer's innovative search facility, which will be refined and expanded over coming months, will help listeners explore UK radio, with five easy ways to search: by station, programme, location, presenter or topic. On-demand programmes, "listen again" and commercial radio podcasts will also be searchable, with live output or "just broadcast" listed higher than older programming.

All BBC national and local stations as well as commercial radio, including Global's Capital and Heart networks, GMG's Smooth Radio and Absolute Radio, will be available on Radioplayer.

It is also announced today that Bauer Media and UTV Media owned stations will be joining Radioplayer within a week of launch, taking the total number of stations available from 157 to 228 – with all the UK's major radio groups now available on Radioplayer. Other stations joining Radioplayer on week two of its roll-out include Fun Kids, Global Traffic Network, Planet Rock and Manx Radio, which will be followed in the coming weeks by hundreds of local, regional, student and community radio stations.

Listeners will have access to a one-stop shop for hundreds of stations, with Radioplayer's intelligent functionality making online listening accessible, intuitive and simple. Users will be able to flick between stations at the click of a button as well as store favourites as pre-sets, offering all the simplicity of a traditional radio, with all the benefits of digital.

Radioplayer is expected to become a vital component of the radio industry's multiplatform digital future alongside DAB, with potential roll-out plans seeing Radioplayer available on mobile devices, including smart phones and tablet computers. Radioplayer is also confirmed as a content advisory partner for the YouView internet TV project, set to launch in 2012.

Radioplayer will use stations' existing audio streams, leaving radio stations in full control of their branding, audio and visual content, with commercial radio stations also able to add sponsorship and advertising to their "skins" – pop-up front page.

Tim Davie, Director, BBC Audio and Music, says: "Radioplayer's strength is a simple, powerful offer to listeners: all of radio in one place. This partnership is another signal that the radio industry is accelerating cross-industry innovation."

Andrew Harrison, Chairman, UK Radioplayer Ltd, says: "Radioplayer will benefit the entire UK radio industry – BBC, commercial, and all Ofcom-licensed community, hospital and student radio. Every station on Radioplayer will be one click away from every other station, and listeners will have the ability to search the whole of UK radio, discovering exciting new content. All stations will be treated equally, and the smallest station will pay the least to join. We're aiming for the whole of UK radio to be on Radioplayer within a year."

Michael Hill, Managing Director, UK Radioplayer Ltd, says: "Radioplayer represents a united industry investment in its digital future. Over the next few weeks Radioplayer is set to expand rapidly, offering consumer choice across hundreds of stations and thousands of programmes. That choice could soon extend to platforms including mobiles, tablets, connected TVs and hybrid radios."

DRM+ Trial in the UK

Thu, 06 Jan 2011 14:19:27 +0000

The DRM Digital Radio Mondiale standard was extended in 2009 to add an additional mode for operation in the VHF broadcasting bands (known as DRM+), enhancing the established capability of DRM for digital radio services in the bands below 30 MHz.

DRM provides many features to allow user-friendly, high quality radio to be broadcast, including use of station names rather than frequencies, consistent digital audio, additional text and visualisation, an EPG, alternate service signalling, and automatic service following to DRM, DAB, FM and AM services.

After the successful trial in Sri Lanka (November 2010) the DRM Consortium will mount a comprehensive DRM+ trial in the UK. The trial will take place in the Edinburgh area of Scotland in the first quarter of 2011.

Its objectives are:

To measure the coverage of DRM+ operating in various transmission modes (lower capacity, higher ruggedness; higher capacity, lower ruggedness);
To compare the coverage of FM and DRM+ in terms of transmit power;
To assess the impact of DRM+ on FM and vice-versa;
To demonstrate the performance of DRM+ in a range of environments throughout the coverage area, for example, urban, suburban, rural, etc., and therefore provide an analysis of performance in the presence of multipath interference, terrain shielding, man-made obstructions, etc., in both strong and weak signal areas;
To measure the pattern of the antenna in order to correlate performance in different directions with expected performance;
To provide suitable measurement data to international regulatory bodies, such as CEPT and ITU.

UK Online Radio Player Rate Card for Stations Announced

Wed, 08 Dec 2010 12:50:42 +0000

The Rate Card for Radioplayer, the online console for UK radio, is published today, with the entry fee for the smallest stations set at only £90 in the first year.

Stations wishing to join Radioplayer will be subject to an annual licence fee to cover operating and setup costs, set relative to station size to ensure fairness. Each station will fall into one of five fee bands, ranging from £90 for stations with a weekly reach below 50,000, to £23,040 for stations of over 3.2m. The lowest band enables small Ofcom-regulated independent, community and student stations to join.

Alongside the Rate Card, the Terms and Conditions and Style Guide, detailing how Radioplayer looks and works, have also been published.

Radioplayer creates significant opportunities for the radio sector, expanding the scope and availability of services and providing a simple online interface for audiences and advertisers to access and discover more digital radio, alongside DAB.

Michael Hill, Managing Director, UK Radioplayer Ltd, said:

“One of Radioplayer’s founding principles is fairness – we want to create a level playing field where the UK radio industry can agree on technology, and compete on content. That’s why we’ve published this simple, egalitarian funding model.”

Hundreds of stations have already registered their interest in Radioplayer. A phased roll out will commence in January 2011, culminating in a full consumer launch in February 2011.

Stations wishing to join should read the Terms and Conditions and Style Guide, and will be invited to sign up via a simple registration process shortly. There are 3 ways that stations can ‘skin’ their own Radioplayer console.

1) Take the common codebase and adapt it using their own developers

2) Use a third-party console/metadata service, which some firms are offering free

3) Use the simple player-making tool which will be available through Radioplayer

Radioplayer is the UK’s online radio player set to transform the online radio listening experience by offering UK radio in one simple player.

Radioplayer comprises the codebase for a browser-based web player, a set of metadata standards, a new Search protocol designed specifically for radio, a new system for storing user preferences across different domains, and a set of central databases for co-ordinating hundreds of online radio stations.

These standards are held and developed by a not-for-profit company, UK Radioplayer Ltd. The founding partners of Radioplayer are the BBC, Global Radio, GMG Radio, Absolute Radio and the RadioCentre.

Radioplayer Unveiled at Radio Festival

Sat, 23 Oct 2010 11:42:39 +0000

Radioplayer, the online console for UK radio, was today unveiled at the Radio Festival and launch plans announced by the founding partners, BBC, Global Radio, GMG Radio, RadioCentre and Absolute Radio.

Speaking at the annual Radio Festival in Salford, Andrew Harrison, Chairman of Radioplayer and Chief Executive of RadioCentre, alongside Tim Davie, Director of BBC Audio and Music, and Ashley Tabor, Founder and Global Group CEO, announced that a phased roll out of Radioplayer will commence in December 2010, culminating in a full consumer launch in February 2011.

Radioplayer will feature at least 50 stations for its first phase in December, and at least 200 stations, including all major radio groups, all BBC stations, and Ofcom-regulated stations of all types and sizes, by February.

An extensive online marketing campaign will support the consumer launch, and with 4.7m individuals already listening to radio via the internet every month, it is anticipated that Radioplayer will be a multi-million user product from the moment it launches to consumers.

The fully functional Radioplayer with a test set of stations was later demonstrated to delegates by Michael Hill, Radioplayer Managing Director.

Radioplayer's pop-up console and groundbreaking new search engine will make listening to radio online intuitive and easy. Listeners can find their favourite stations, discover new stations, search by programme and genres, and store favourites as pre-sets. Member stations will be instantly discoverable in Radioplayer Search and feature Radioplayer's common user controls, with an annual licensing fee set relative to station size.

Michael Hill, Managing Director, UK Radioplayer Ltd, said: "We are delighted to be able to unveil Radioplayer to our radio industry colleagues today, and show them just how simple and intuitive listening online is with Radioplayer. This is a defining moment for UK radio and we hope all broadcast stations, of all sizes and types, will participate."

Tim Davie, Director of BBC Audio and Music, said: "Radioplayer will deliver a simple, quality experience for users and provide a coherent online presence for UK radio stations. It is a result of genuine collaboration across the industry and is the sort of innovation we need to make digital radio a reality."

Andrew Harrison, Chairman of Radioplayer and Chief Executive, RadioCentre, added: "Radioplayer will create significant opportunities for the commercial radio sector, expanding the scope and availability of services and providing an excellent simple online platform, alongside DAB, for audiences and advertisers to discover more digital radio."

More information can be found at the Radioplayer website, including details of how stations can pre-register ahead of launch, and the latest on Radioplayer developments.

Radioplayer Selects Autonomy

Wed, 22 Sep 2010 23:09:15 +0000

Autonomy Corporation plc (LSE: AU. or AU.L), a global leader in infrastructure software for the enterprise, today announced that Radioplayer, the online console offering hundreds of UK radio stations in one place, has selected Autonomy to power its search facility.

Autonomy's core infrastructure software, the Intelligent Data Operating Layer (IDOL), was selected thanks to its unrivalled meaning-based search capabilities, unmatched scalability and easy maintenance.

Currently being developed by the BBC, Global Radio, GMG Radio, RadioCentre and Absolute Radio, Radioplayer aims to put the audience in control and make radio listening easy and accessible. Radioplayer is a user-friendly console which will be made available to all national, local, community, and student radio stations in the UK, offering a unique, constantly-updated, live and on-demand radio service all on the same interface.

The project aims to encourage radio listening on the Internet, improve user experience of radio on inter-connected devices and present audiences with more listening opportunities on connected devices. Users will be able to listen to their preferred radio stations, including regional radio stations delivering local content, discover new programmes of interest and store their favourite stations as pre-sets.

"Radio in the UK is already immensely popular, with over 90% of adults listening to the radio every week," said Michael Hill, Managing Director, Radioplayer Ltd. "Radioplayer aims to build on that success, encouraging people to listen to their favorite stations and discover new programming while they're at their computer. An effective search experience is crucial to that – and Autonomy's expertise in this area is second to none. Their IDOL platform will help users unlock the enormously rich content available across the radio industry – bringing hidden gems to the surface through meaningful, relevant search results."

Powered by IDOL, the Radioplayer's search box is an essential component as it enables users to retrieve sought-after content quickly and effortlessly. Radioplayer listeners will be able to search every station, identifying news programmes, sports highlights, musical genres or even individual songs, and potentially also find a specific place within the program that mentions the topic they are searching for. Unlike legacy solutions, IDOL can form an understanding of the key concepts in the live stream and could potentially enable retrieval of audio content based on its meaning, thus ensuring maximum relevance of the search results for a first-class user experience.

"In the digital age, users are increasingly looking for effortless and enjoyable ways to locate and consume content with the key to customer retention being a first-rate customer experience," said Ian Black, Head of Global Operations at Autonomy. "The ability to retrieve radio content based on meaning is truly unique. We are delighted that Radioplayer has selected IDOL to power its search box and look forward to our future collaborations," concluded Mr. Black.

Future plans include the addition of a number of IDOL functionalities such as Clustering and Hyperlinking and the potential extension of Radioplayer beyond the Internet, to other Internet Protocol (IP) – connected devices, such as smart phones and IPTV.

Blur Reunion Provides Favourite Glastonbury Performance

Thu, 24 Jun 2010 21:50:21 +0000

BBC 6 Music presenter Lauren Laverne today revealed that Blur's headlining show at last year's Glastonbury Festival has been voted 6 Music listeners' favourite Glastonbury performance from the past 40 years.

The listeners were asked to vote for their performance highlights from a list, compiled by 6 Music, that included the likes of music icons David Bowie, Jeff Buckley and Johnny Cash.

Blur beat two Glastonbury turns by Radiohead, their iconic 1997 performance coming second, and their 2003 set coming third.

6 Music presenter Jarvis Cocker made it to No. 4 in the list with Pulp's career defining show in 1995.

The 6 Music listeners' top 20 Glastonbury performances are:

1. Blur – 2009
2. Radiohead – 1997
3. Radiohead – 2003
4. Pulp – 1995
5. David Bowie – 2000
6. Orbital – 2004
7. Coldplay – 2000
8. The Cure – 1990
9. REM – 2003
10. Elbow – 2004
11. Johnny Cash – 1994
12. Jeff Buckley – 1995
13. The Chemical Brothers – 2000
14. Robert Plant and Jimmy Page – 1995
15. Manic Street Preachers – 1999
16. Morrissey – 2004
17. Joe Strummer and The Mescaleros – 1999
18. Portishead – 1998
19. Beastie Boys – 1994
20. Suede – 2003

BBC 6 Music kicks off its weekend of live coverage from Glastonbury this afternoon when Steve Lamacq broadcasts live from site between 4-7pm. Presenters Lauren Laverne, Jarvis Cocker, Adam & Joe, Cerys Matthews, Craig Charles, Tom Robinson and Tom Ravenscroft join Steve on site to bring listeners live performances, exclusive interviews and regular festival news updates from across the weekend, plus a voyage into the Glastonbury archives, late into the night.

London – Another Country?

Tue, 22 Jun 2010 04:07:55 +0000

BBC Radio 4 will broadcast a two-week season of programmes exploring how London has changed over the last 25 years.

The season, London – Another Country?, will examine the capital's place in modern Britain and the world and whether it is representative of the United Kingdom or feels like a different country altogether.

Programmes will investigate the contemporary experience of Londoners and the City's impact on the rest of the UK. The season will explore London's diversity, architecture, languages and food and also uncover some remarkable human interest stories. There will be an assessment of the week in July 2005, when London experienced the euphoria of winning the Olympics, followed almost immediately by the 7/7 bombings.

Mark Damazer, Controller of Radio 4, said: "London has for centuries been a major international city but the characteristics which define it have changed markedly in recent years. London arouses strong feelings whether of affection, admiration, envy, contempt or revulsion. The London season on Radio 4 aims to reflect all these sentiments and we want to appeal to all Radio 4 audiences – not just those who happen to live near the city itself."

Mohit Bakaya, Radio 4 Commissioning Editor, said: "Deregulation, migration and cultural innovation have turned London into a global city. We are interested in what the impact of that rapid change has been on both the people who live in London and the rest of the UK. We will put London under the microscope – the good, the bad and the ugly."

Presenters and contributors to programmes include Madness frontman Suggs, novelist Andrea Levy, Kwame Kwei-Armah, Asian Dub Foundation's Steve Savale, comedian Arthur Smith, journalists Rosie Millard, Stuart Cosgrove and Jonathan Glancey, historians Alan Dein and Dan Cruickshank, and broadcaster Robert Elms.

Highlights include The London Story, presented by Kwame Kwei Armah, which explores how London has become a diverse, creatively rich world city and how its dynamic population has shaped its politics and culture since the Seventies.

In London – An A to Z, Madness front man Suggs and novelist Andrea Levy voice 26 quirky facts about London. The 40-second clips will give listeners a wide range of statistics about the capital on how the city has changed and others that challenge assumptions about contemporary London.

Author of Small Island, Andrea Levy, also presents London Nights, 10 half-hour anthologies of short pieces for radio featuring late-night mixes of voices, sounds and experiences that capture the spirit of London. London Nights includes regular features such as Pairs In Squares, in which Jonathan Glancey explores randomly chosen grids of London's famous street map and The Other Londons – five places outside the M25 with a London name.

In Just Off The Plane, Alan Dein greets people at Heathrow, asks about their expectations of London and follows them to see if the capital lives up to their hopes.

Broadcaster and journalist Stuart Cosgrove questions whether London is so great in There's More To Life Than London and argues that there are plenty of reasons why people would not want to live in London – the overcrowded tube, the dirt and the cost. He looks at the joys and challenges of living outside the capital and claims the city draws enterprise and energy from the regions and explores.

Laurie Taylor hosts The Greatest City On Earth debate in which London competes with three other world cities for the title. Four advocates argue the case for their city with a studio audience voting for a winner.

In a special edition of The Report, Mukul Devichand investigates what has happened to the old working classes of areas like Barking and Woolwich and finds out if they have been increasingly alienated and marginalised.

London Eats The World is a special online collaboration between BBC London and Radio 4. The challenge is to see if food from across the globe can be found in the capital. BBC London's Robert Elms will invite listeners to send details of their most memorable restaurant experiences, unusual customs, ingredients and unique food combinations and add them onto an interactive map of the capital on BBC London's website.

Robert Elms will also uncover some remarkable stories of fellow passengers on the 36 bus route from New Cross Gate to Queen's Park in Top Deck Tales. The stories include the person who was once on death row in Saddam's Hussein's Iraq, the bus drivers who fell in love and the prisoner on day release trying to find a job.

London – Another Country? begins on Saturday 3 July.

BBC and Commercial Radio Unveil Industry-wide Radioplayer

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 07:13:56 +0000

The BBC and commercial radio have unveiled a new online radio player that aims to offer the output of every licensed UK radio station and to let users search this content by subject, musical style, or even song title.

The UK Radioplayer, due for launch early next year, is a pop-up console which will be open to stream more than 400 licensed national, local, community and student radio stations, offering a unique, constantly updated live and on-demand audio service.

It allows listeners to search every station on the UK Radioplayer network, identifying news programmes, sports highlights, musical genres or even individual songs, using a revolutionary new search engine designed for radio.

Users can store their favourite stations on pre-set buttons, for easy access.

The announcement comes as the industry revealed that that Heads of Terms for the project have been signed by the BBC, RadioCentre, Global Radio and Guardian Media Group.

The player is launched through radio stations' websites, where the console presents a simple, consistent experience and encourages listeners to discover new content. It has a standard look and functionality, irrespective of which station is being listening to.

Stations which choose to join the Radioplayer will have the freedom to accompany their live streams with additional material of their choice – on-demand audio, click-to-buy music services, webcams, track listings, adverts or the weather, for example.

In the first instance, the service will be made available to all Ofcom-licensed networks.

It will initially be available through desktop computers, with later versions intended for smartphones and other internet-connected devices like IPTVs.

All BBC radio services will be included in the player, subject to the Corporation's approvals process.

The UK Radioplayer follows discussions in the Radio Council about how the industry might deliver cross-sector digital projects. The player will be launched subject to consultation with the BBC Trust and RadioCentre board.

Announcing the plans today, senior figures from across the industry commented:

Tim Davie, Director of BBC Audio & Music, said: "This is a really exciting development and a result of focused, collaborative thinking within the radio industry. The aim of this service is to grow listening across the industry and help preserve radio's unique position."

Ashley Tabor, Global Group Founder and CEO, said: "Radioplayer has been developed with the listener in mind and is a big step forward for the radio industry as a whole, providing further cohesion between commercial radio and the BBC as we drive to Digital."

Andrew Harrison, Chief Executive, RadioCentre, said: "The Radioplayer brings together all of the UK's radio output in one online console. This is a breakthrough for listeners and an attractive new proposition for advertisers."

Stuart Taylor, Chief Executive, GMG Radio, said: "This collaborative project reflects the industry's commitment to an improved user experience for radio online as IP-enabled devices proliferate. The new opportunities for advertisers will add to the growing number of cross-platform solutions already in place."