The way in which we consume television and radio continues to change, as John Bensalhia discovers in a discussion with the BBC’s Ross Kemp
Founded in 1922, and credited as being the world’s oldest national broadcasting organisation, the BBC is an institution with nearly a century of notable achievements. But it’s not resting on its laurels, as head of connectivity architecture, Ross Kemp explains.
“Throughout the BBC’s history, we’ve had a reputation for harnessing the latest technologies and mediums to inform, educate and entertain our licence-fee paying audience in the UK, as well as radio, television and online audiences across the world.”
Ross works in the technology strategy and architecture group, whose mission is to transform the BBC’s technology for the future. He is mandated to define and deliver a connectivity strategy that enables the BBC to be ready for an online-first audience whilst overseeing the exacting demands of a traditional broadcast network.
The days of the nation sitting down as one to watch the Morecambe and Wise Christmas Special are behind us. There are more channels and more ways of consuming content. The BBC’s audience has more choices and is much more discerning than in the days of yore.
There’s also the challenge of Netflix, Amazon and Apple, who have lured away many of the younger audience that the BBC needs to engage with. How has the BBC adapted to meet these challenges? Its stated aim is online first – get the BBC’s key content available over the internet (and therefore to internet devices) as soon as possible.
Channel crossing
The rate of change over the BBC’s first century has been exponential.
“The last 20 years have seen more significant change in how content is made and published by the BBC and consumed by its audience than in the previous 80,” Ross explains.