The BBC has launched a brand new app giving listeners access to live radio content and podcasts in one place. BBC Sounds is a personalised application, bringing together the broadcaster's live and on demand radio, music and podcasts and is part of the corporation's plans to "reinvent the BBC for a new generation". Similarly to Spotify, the app is designed to learn from users' listening habits and to introduce people to new audio based on their interests in the "Recommended for you" section.
BBC Sounds will play host to 80,000 hours of content, and will retain the virtual tuning dial feature seen on the iPlayer Radio app for live shows. There is also a "Continue Listening" section which allows users to easily return to part-listened podcasts and radio programmes. The app offers "hand-picked collections" of podcasts and on demand music shows for every mood, from "Funny Chat" to "Dance Mixes". Listeners can add any individual episode or clip to "My List" to catch up with later on, and subscriptions will appear in "My Sounds". There is currently no ability to download content onto the app for offline listening, but the BBC say this is being worked on and will be added soon, along with many other new features.
"This is very much a first release," wroteDan Taylor-Watt, head of iPlayer and Sounds at the BBC, in a blog post. "We wanted to get it out as early as possible to start getting feedback to help develop the app." BBC Sounds will run alongside the iPlayer Radio app until the latter is shut down. The app is available to download for free from Apple, Google and Amazon app stores now.