CBC does it again
posted by CCThe resurgence of CBC into relevancy, after years of toiling in near obscurity continues to amaze me, and I would love to know who is behind it.
They have done this by taking advantage of their position as a crown corporation to experiment in ways that a purely commercial venture doesn’t dare, and it has paid – I am constantly amazed at how many people my age rely on CBC, and how popular they are around the world.
They have done it by embracing the technology that is changing the media industry instead of rejecting it – they were one of the first to podcast (which has pushed programmes like Quirks & Quarks to huge popularity in the US and around the world). They stream their radio in multiple formats, so you don’t have to have Windows to listen. They were the first in Vancouver to provide a real HD over the air broadcast, which turned me, personally, back onto The National.
They even made the front page of the (in)famous slashdot by distributing shows by bit torrent.
I just discovered their latest salvo: the CBC iPhone App
A single application that gives you links to listen to CBC Radio 1,2,3, or access a number of their programs on-demand, if you so choose.
I’ve just downloaded it, and I can see there is some thought here – there is a sleep timer built-in, so if you are in the middle of Texas on vacation, you can plug into Radio One to go to sleep, and have it turn itself off. Additionally there is a “frequencies” button – tap it, and it uses the GPS to determine where you are then lists what frequency CBC radio is in your area. You can pull radio schedules on it too.
I love this kind of experimentation – it is great to see a media company experimenting with the new world, instead of being dragged kicking and screaming into it!