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Pocket Casts has a new owner... again
WordPress.com parent Automattic takes over a money-losing podcast app
The parent company of WordPress.com and Tumblr will acquire podcast player Pocket Casts from a public media consortium that included NPR among other organizations.
BBC Sounds app now available for listeners around the globe
It's time to start saying your goodbyes to iPlayer
The BBC has been in the process of shutting down its iPlayer service for years now in favor of the newer BBC Sounds app, which was introduced in 2018 as a way to provide a more personalized listening experience. Users in the UK were migrated to the new app last year, and now it looks like it's time for international users to follow suit.
Here's the new BBC iPlayer app for Android TV (APK download)
Intended for the new Chromecast with Google TV, but can be sideloaded on other devices
BBC iPlayer has had a strange relationship with Android TV. There have been versions specific to certain hardware, such as the one for the Nvidia Shield or those you can get on Sony TVs, but there's still no official generic version that works on any ATV device. This means no BBC iPlayer for the new Chromecast with Google TV, since that's just an ATV dongle with a fancy skin. Or so we thought. Thankfully, there's a new version of the app that's compatible with Google's new hardware, just in time for launch.
UK government U-turn: COVID-19 contact-tracing app will switch to Google-Apple technology
The latest episode in our quaint little omnishambles
Nobody expected the UK government's testing and rollout of its COVID-19 track and trace app to go particularly smoothly, but to say the process has been shambolic could possibly be an understatement. After the recent news of its delay, we're now hearing that the NHS app is going to be completely reworked to incorporate Google and Apple's collaborative solution instead of the centralized version that was previously tested.
Last summer, The Beeb (as it's affectionately known on my side of the pond) launched a new app for all of its various audio content, inventively called BBC Sounds. At that point, we knew the BBC iPlayer Radio app's days were numbered, but now the time has finally come to say goodbye to what many people still believe is the superior app.
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- BBC content is back in the Google Podcasts app and is available on Google Home again. Curiously, the BBC's robot.txt file and its website still mention the restriction. It's not clear whether the two companies came to an agreement recently (Google does seem to be working on the analytics dashboard that BBC requested) or whether Google is simply circumventing the file to provide the content to its users. Thanks, Travis!
Podcasts are a prime example of the internet doing something right. You aren't forced to use one particular service, but you can freely choose how you'd like to consume your favorite content. Well, if you happen to be a Google Podcasts user and an avid BBC listener, those times are over for now. The British network is blocking all its content from Google's app and Assistant.
The UK's most famous media institution, the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation), seems like it's constantly in transition as it tries to maintain its traditional values at the same time as adapting to a new generation of viewers, listeners, and readers. As far as audio content goes, the BBC has had to supplement its live and on-demand content by releasing podcasts on other services, too.
Here in the UK, you get used to the convenience of catching up on any BBC show using the fantastic iPlayer app. It hasn't been so easy for Stateside users, even though the BBC iPlayer Radio app is available outside the UK. BBC America has just released its very own app, so US viewers can get some of the same benefits as we do this side of the Atlantic.
BBC publishes a lot of apps for the UK market, but it's been branching out and making apps for a more worldwide audience as well. The BBC News app has already been localized to several languages, with language translations but also a focus on the target culture and audience: there's BBC Mundo, BBC Hindi, BBC Russian, BBC Cymru Fyw, and now the latest addition is BBC Arabic.
If you've ever sampled the BBC's excellent radio output, there's one app you really need in your life: BBC iPlayer Radio. It's a one-stop shop for all BBC radio shows, from sport to comedy to current affairs, and while the app may have its quirks, it's still a mostly good experience on Android.
The BBC is pretty good when it comes to 360-degree content. The British media network even has a dedicated '360 Videos' YouTube playlist with a nice selection, ranging from tours of Italian cities to immersive wildlife experiences. It's now taking this to the logical next step, courtesy of its experimental BBC Taster studio, which has released a new VR app.
'The Pilot,' the first episode of Doctor Who season 10, aired yesterday worldwide. The new season comes about a year and a half after the final episode of season 9, so it's been quite the wait for fans of the show. To celebrate, the episode is currently free on Google Play, along with the first episode of Class, the latest Doctor Who spinoff.
Residents of the UK enjoy a number of nice perks including universal healthcare, a cool accent, and lots of good television content. Some British TV has made its way over to US networks and streaming services, but a lot of it has been hard to come by on this side of the pond. BritBox is a new streaming service that launches today to make a ton of series from the BBC and ITV available in the US. You can grab the app right now.
Ask any Brit about Sir David Attenborough and I'm sure most would respond positively. Attenborough, a broadcaster and naturalist who has created the 'Life' TV series and refined how to make documentaries, has had his work compiled into an app, appropriately titled 'Attenborough's Story of Life.'
You don't get much more British than the BBC. It's like a cup of tea or chocolate digestive biscuits. Presumably because the BBC has realised it is losing market share to other news websites and TV services like Netflix or Amazon Prime, it has released a new app, BBC+, in an attempt to combat this. Provided the user has a BBC iD, they can pick what they're interested in and then see in a magazine-like format.
The BBC has offered the iPlayer Radio app since 2012 as a handy way to access its radio programming on mobile devices. However, it has always been limited to the UK. Starting today, iRadio is going global. Well, global-ish. It's only expanded to Ireland today, but the rollout should continue to the rest of the globe in short order.
What's up, British people... and Welsh people, and Scots, and Irish people who live in Northern Ireland but not the other parts of Ireland. (Did I miss anyone?) You probably watch the British Broadcasting Company's news or television shows, even if it's only in passing. And some of those shows probably feature some live music. If you like the music on those BBC shows, there's an app where you can watch and/or listen to it. It's called BBC Music. Go figure.
BBC's micro:bit is an ARM-based embedded system with an accelerometer, magnetometer, Bluetooth, USB, 25 LED lights, and 2 programmable buttons, that is part of a BBC initiative to enhance computer education in the UK. The small board should be given for free to all year 7 students in the country to help them write software and build new computer things. It has a dedicated website to get started and desktop applications to connect to computers.
iPlayer is a treat from the BBC to its viewers in the UK. The broadcasting network produces content, and it lets locals view them from the comfort of their mobile devices. Think of it as the relationship seemingly every other popular Internet streaming service has with the US, at least initially.
BBC iPlayer is Internet streaming's gift to the UK. The service is packed to the brim with British TV shows and documentaries, and the Android app offers a nice way to consume as much as you can.