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Media
Radio needs to be more visual, says BBC man
By CMU Editorial | Published on Friday 13 January 2012
Everyone at BBC Radio seems obsessed about doing things visually. Perhaps they all really wish they were working for BBC TV. Or perhaps they all agree with their boss, Tim Davie, who reckons that the future of radio will be dominated by the screen – as more people listen to radio shows via devices that can carry text, images and video (their TV set, the web, and the next generation of DAB devices which will have ever bigger screens). You might think that the very reason someone would choose radio over other forms of entertainment (even if their radio device has a screen) is because they want to listen and not watch, but according to Davie the kids are looking for a multi-media experience whatever channel they tune into.
According to The Guardian, in his address to a future of radio conference organised by Absolute Radio, the BBC man said yesterday: “With some regret we are moving to a screen world. Radio needs to accept that and get on with it and enjoy it. I’m a big fan of pure audio and I have always felt that audio will hold up for a long time, but in terms of the devices, it will have a screen on it. We have been at it for a while, but what information we give on that screen, that is now a real issue”.
But Davie did caution radio types about getting too carried away with the visual element, adding: “Radio needs to be careful that you don’t just visualise everything and chuck up video everywhere. Our power has always been about the curating and the editing, rather than just showing stuff on a webcam”.
Clever ways to incorporate visual with audio services via smartphone devices are also needed, the BBC exec said, telling his audience: “We need to be on more smartphone devices. If I have one challenge for the industry, it is to get on devices. We need to be distributed on iPhones and all the various platforms. That is the real priority”.
