BBC Player eschews algorithms for curated content recommendations, says Ostmodern
BBC Player has eschewed the increasingly conventional use of algorithms for recommending shows to viewers editorially, according to platform provider Ostmodern.
BBC Player eschews algorithms for editoral approach
Skylark is the underlying technology of BBC Worldwide's video on demand (VOD) service, which is being slowly rolled out through Asia. It is primarily editorial-led for content discovery, according to Tom Williams, chief executive officer, Ostmodern.
“The main way viewers will discover new things to watch is through the BBC’s editorial team curating and promoting content using the tools available in the Skylark platform,” says Williams.
“The logic behind this approach is that simply opening up the entire content library and expecting viewers to take the place of content curators themselves is sometimes too high a barrier for VOD adoption. After all, having good content is just the start. Guiding people towards it and giving them a reason to watch is the hardest part of making any VOD service a success,” he adds.
Leading by editorial
The main crux for having a curated experience lies in the struggle that video-on-demand players face with viewers only exploring a small portion of available content, Williams claims.
Editors then step in with their skills to ensure that content is linked to topical events. “It’s bringing back the editorial curation aspect of linear TV for the next generation of video on demand,” says Williams.
“Consider, for example, how a VOD platform could have responded to the number of celebrity deaths in 2016 by stitching together archived films, interviews, new content, and discussions around a celebrity in a manner that was tasteful, timely, and engaging for viewers. Editorial needs to be at the heart of the next generation of VOD in this way, which depends on having the right platform in place to put together content collections,” he adds.
Building this functionality into VOD services will help retain viewers, as content responds and pushes, as events unfold, Williams claims.
Even as VOD services snake their way through emerging countries in Asia, infrastructure constraints become apparent once you leave developed hubs like Singapore. This, however, does not faze Williams.
“BBC Player was developed to use video players with adaptive streaming technology, getting around the broadband infrastructure bandwidth issues faced by emerging markets. This approach ensures the BBC’s deployment of the Skylark platform can always serve a video to the viewer, taking their bandwidth availability into account to scale video quality on the fly,” he says.
The Beeb is beginning its long march into Asia, having recently launched in its second Asian country, albeit with current channel providers rather than just an over-the-top service.