Features include all BBC’s national and regional radio stations as well as BBC World Service, live and on demand; twenty new podcasts available on BBC Sounds including Beyond Today, a daily news podcast, as well as new podcasts from well-known favourites Rylan Clark-Neal, Konnie Huq, Colin Murray and the stars of EastEnders; Forty new and exclusive music mixes curated by the BBC’s music experts, artists and others – including top footballing stars; Popular and chart-topping podcasts made outside the BBC including The Guilty Feminist, Beef And Dairy Network, Griefcast and Swipe Left Swipe Left; and over 100 hours of classic BBC comedy and drama newly available and only on BBC Sounds.
BBC Director-General Tony Hall says: “Radio is a unique and precious part of our lives and we’re innovating to secure its future for generations to come. BBC Sounds is a standalone and standout destination, bringing the best of everything we do in audio into one place. It allows us all to experiment – to explore new music, stories and ideas – to play with form and content. And it’s going to support a whole new generation of talent.”
James Purnell, Director of Radio and Education, adds: “BBC Sounds will bring you all our audio at the touch of a button. We’ll do the hard work of finding the right mix, podcast or radio programme for you. It’s the start of an adventure – we’ll learn from our audiences to keep improving what Sounds offers, so we can bring the best to everyone.”
Bob Shennan, Director of Radio and Music, says: “BBC Radio has always been brilliant at reinventing itself and BBC Sounds is the next chapter in that great tradition. We make the best radio, podcasts, and offer the best music curation in the world – and through BBC Sounds we can ensure more people than ever can enjoy that when and how they want.”
Every person’s experience of BBC Sounds will be unique – as it’s designed to learn from listening habits, providing one-tap access to the latest episodes of favourite BBC podcasts and radio shows and introduce people to new audio they wouldn’t otherwise have discovered.
This week BBC Sounds will be loaded with all of listeners’ favourite shows and podcasts as well as brand new podcasts and music mixes, with more to come over the following weeks and months.
BBC Sounds is available online at bbc.co.uk/sounds and can be downloaded for iOS, Android and Amazon.