More from the MediaGuardian TV shindig in Edinburgh … BBC director of vision Jana Bennett said the BBC must continue to produce high quality programmes like Bleak House and Extras, but in line with the corporation’s “convergence” mantra those programs must reach the widest possible audience — and that means increasing experimentation on alternative platforms.
“We need to be ready for the forces of convergence,” she said rather ominously. A former colleague quoted by The Observer says that Bennett “gets” the whole convergence thing, but there are only teasing remarks to indicate exactly what means for BBC content in practical terms: “I think we should be open to the idea of a channel becoming more porous and embracing user-generated content.”
So far, convergence has meant experiments like offering Doctor Who clips for mobiles and exclusive online interviews with Apprentice contestants. Future projects include what are rather vaguely described as: a heavier online presence for new sci-fi series Torchwood, which will have an exclusively online making-of show; a new series of Castaways that “will aim to involve the viewer more closely”; and that digital channel BBC3 could continue to be used as a testing ground for new TV shows. Bennett said audiences now expect choice: “They expect a package around a good brand. In many ways, consumers are ahead of the broadcasters.”
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This article originally appeared in MediaGuardian.
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