Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

BBC Launches APIs

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the unleash-an-avalanche-of-applications dept.

Stefan Magdalinski writes "The BBC is opening up a slew of APIs to its content and applications via a new site, backstage.bbc.co.uk, and actively encouraging users to remix, mashup, and otherwise play with their content to create new applications. Already there's a few cool featured apps, my own BBC News wikipedizing proxy, and a del.icio.us-enabled version of BBC News "Use our stuff to create your stuff" is their slogan. Could a commercial broadcaster ever take a step like this?"

16 of 249 comments (clear)

  1. Missing Link by fembots · · Score: 4, Insightful

    1. Use our stuff to create your stuff
    2. ???
    3. Profit!!!!

    Terms & Conditions:

    4. The BBC may edit, amend or change the BBC Content that appears on the backstage.bbc.co.uk site at any time at its discretion. The BBC also reserves the right to modify or discontinue the backstage.bbc.co.uk site at any time.

    --
    Rock that crushes, Paper & Scissors that don't matter.
    1. Re:Missing Link by Capsaicin · · Score: 4, Insightful

      If they were government funded there wouldn't have been all the fuss over BBC vs Government during the whole Iraq thing.

      Not so. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is funded from consolidated revenue, and they still had a spat with the government apropos Iraq (though not as big a spat was the BBC did).

      Their independence results instead, it from the fact that each of these broadcasters is formally an independent corporation. Of course the question of funding, whether out of consolidated revenue or via a licensing 'fee,' given governments some leverage over these organisations. Additionally, at least in the case of the ABC, appointments to the board (as with judges to the bench) are made by government. In Australia at least, the government, as a matter of convention and honour, has tradtionally resisted making overtly politcal appointments or using funding cuts as a punishment for criticism. Unfortunately given the international Retreat of Democracy this seems no longer to be the case.

      --
      Better to be despised for too anxious apprehensions, than ruined by too confident a security. --Edmund Burke
  2. Universal Streamer by geomon · · Score: 5, Insightful

    So what is the possibility that we could be converging on a universal streaming client? I know Microsoft and Real would like to see their systems become the ligua franca of streaming video, but the BBC has the advantage of a huge library of content.

    Will content trump market penetration?

    --
    "Rocky Rococo, at your cervix!"
  3. wait, hold up, what? by TheHonestTruth · · Score: 5, Funny
    I'm confused... it sounds like someone is actually encouraging people to share information. I'll need to read that again. Hold on...

    -truth

    --

    I had a steady B+ in my AI class until I failed the Turing test...

  4. Would this ever happen without the licence fee? by jolyonr · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Sure, some people may bitch about having to pay a TV licence fee, but would this kind of thing ever happen if all broadcasters were only in the game for a profit?

    Jolyon

    --


    Please read my Canon EOS tech blog at http://www.everyothershot.com
    1. Re:Would this ever happen without the licence fee? by Rorschach1 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I'm so disgusted with what passes for programming on the American TV networks that I'd be more than happy to pay the British TV license fee if it'd get me all the BBC content.

      Yeah, I'm sure the founding fathers are turning over in their graves at the idea of an American volunteering to pay a British tax, but then the founding fathers would understand if they had to watch the WB...

    2. Re:Would this ever happen without the licence fee? by Wildfire+Darkstar · · Score: 4, Informative

      BBC America isn't the same as it's UK cousins. It's a fully commercial network, not funded by any license fee. They're run by BBC Worldwide, which is the commercial arm of the BBC, and have to purchase the rights to any and all programming they air, just like any other American network. They also have commercials, which makes for slightly strange programming blocks, IMO.

      --
      Sean Daugherty "I have walked in Eternity -- and Eternity weeps."
  5. Define profit by grahamsz · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Hopefully for the bbc profit = "wide distribution of knowledge", not that traditional profit = "massive bonuses for executives"

  6. Where's the Monty Pythonizer? by Cr0w+T.+Trollbot · · Score: 5, Funny
    I want an API that turns any webpage into a Monty Python sketch!

    Customer: Excuse me, I would like to complain about this Windows Security Update what I downloaded just yesterday.
    Shopkeeper: Oh yes, a great Windows Update! Beautiful plummage.
    Customer: The plummage don't enter into it! The problem is that this Windows Security Update is dead.
    Shopkeeper: No, it's just resting! It will hop up any minute and dance around destroying viruses.
    Customer: This Windows Security Update would not dance around even if Linus Torvalds himself gave it CPR!

    Crow T. Trollbot

  7. Further Proof... by eno2001 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    ...that the Beeb has got it right. In the media business, the focus should be on content generation and the flexibility of form in media. Who cares about market share or sales or ratings, when you are truly focused on creating content and sparking creativity amongst the viewers/readers/listeners, etc... This is why the quality of everything the BBC produces is of the highest caliber. The closest thing we have here in the states is the poorly underfunded PBS and NPR networks. The day that the Republicans decided to rip away government funding from PBS was a dark day indeed and we're still paying for it in every sense of the word. Discovery and TLC don't even come close to what PBS used to be able to offer when it got better governement funding. Kudos to the BBC for showing the rest of the world how good it could be.

    --
    -"...bad old ideas look confusingly fresh when they are packaged as technology" - Jaron Lanier (Digital Maoism on Edge.o
  8. PBS next? by Colonel+Panic · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Could a commercial broadcaster ever take a step like this?

    Not likely, but what about PBS doing something similar to what the Beeb is doing? There are other non-commecial broadcasting entities around the world which could do similar things.

  9. Extract from the Api by Zangief · · Score: 4, Funny

    Stream getMovie(char* movieName)

    getMovie returns a stream of data, if a movie called movieName exists, null otherwise.

    Stream getAd()

    getAd must be called before every call to getMovie. Otherwise, your computer explodes.

    From time to time, a call to getMovie is forwarded to a call to getAd.

  10. Automatic slashdot stories by ganhawk · · Score: 4, Funny

    We should use the API's to generate automatic stories on slashdot.
    Ofcourse, generated stories will be rejected if it does not contain certain keywords or dupes. So I propose combining this with Slashdot random story generator

    --
    Python script to convert photos into "artsy" portraits: http://p2pbridge.sf.net/pyPortrait/
  11. Commercial problems... by nordicfrost · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Could a commercial broadcaster ever take a step like this?"

    As one who work in a commercial news website; nope. We offer simple feeds to private non-commercial sites that wants to have out 10 latest news headlines. But other than that, it would be like handing out gold over to the competition. Besies, we want people to visit our site. Not get all the goodies on other sites.

    Now, a state-run actor can do this, because their mraginal loss is approx. zero. We have a state rune broadcaster in Norway and they SUCK. I hate them with a passion, because thei charge the license fee and give us crap back. If there was an option to pay to the BBC and only get BBC programming to my TV, I'd do it in a heartbeat. NRK (the state broadcaster) has so much crap, I don't have the concistence to pay for it. So I don't have a TV.

    BBC is cool. they plan to make most of their archives available for the public free. Here we have out of copyright works DRMed in Windows Media DRM and published for a fee by the film board. How retarded is that? Do you want to see a clip from your state broadcaster produced comedy show that YOU financed through license fees? Cough up 5 dollars pr 1/2 hour, scumbag, and take this Media Player DRMed file.

    God, I hate them. No wonder they fail misreably in the internet sector, even while having the HUGE advantage f bein a state broadcaster.

  12. Re:*Free* by Oxygen99 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Oh do be quiet troll.

    The BBC license fee is one of the best investments you'll ever make. Where else can you be ensured of an impartial independent information channel with consistently high quality output imparted through channels so diverse you probably haven't heard of half of them. I'm sure you'll be ecstatic when the entire gamut of television in the United Kingdom runs from the Celebrity Wrestling to Footballer's Wives. Personally I'd prefer to keep programs such as the Power of Nightmares and The Office while supporting high quality radio and fantastic web services. All for £10, or $20 a month.

    People like you amaze me.

    --
    I had a dream, bright and carefree, but now there's doubt and gravity
  13. Collaborative Tagging by delete · · Score: 4, Funny

    Interestingly enough, as part of the BBC's new service, they've provided a tagging system (associated with delicious).

    For example, the tags for Malcolm Glazer's takeover of Manchester United football club are currently given as:
    "utd wanker wanker asshat asshat utd beard"

    It's actually a great idea, but perhaps a little more tweaking may be in order.