BBC to overhaul mobile news access, up video focus

The BBC is set to introduce “significant changes” to the BBC News site and mobile apps to respond to the rise of mobile traffic, in a move that will see it surface more video content.

Outlining the changes that are due to roll out from the end of the month, Robin Pembrooke, head of product, BBC Future Media News and Weather, said that the new BBC News App would be more personalised and offer a broader range of content.

Among the new features, the BBC said that the app will surface more BBC News video content in and alongside articles, will feature improved photo galleries and video playback, and will offer a bigger range of content than the existing app, including local news.

The BBC promised that the new mobile-optimised news website will feature a cleaner design, will load pages quicker, bring up more video content than the existing design and will allow users to find local news easier than before.

“In the past year we have seen an unprecedented shift in news consumption to mobile and tablet devices; in the UK 50-60% of all visits are now from users on mobile, and in some countries it’s over 90%,” said Pembrooke.

“Our original website was not designed with users on mobile or tablet in mind, and we need a cost effective solution that works for everyone, on all devices.”

The BBC said that its existing news website and app products, while successful, have  remained “largely unchanged for the past three or four years.”