BBC radio program site play preview buttons removed?

[Hamus Yaigh]

If you go to any radio show on https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes  and choose a program such as a music show perhaps, it shows the playlist. Previously until last weekend it had a play preview arrow button on left side next to each track where we could listen to a sample 45 seconds of the track. This seems to have completely vanished on my browsers and we just have the track artist and title now.

Anyone know the reason for this change, I cannot find anything searching the net?

Thanks.

[NanLaew]

Just noticed that as I usually only listen to BBC Radio shows on the iPlayer app on my smartphone.

 

I can only assume it's another cost-saving issue as the BBC, like anyone else, would need to pay for the rights to play even snippets of tracks. It's a bit annoying if you are sleuthing for a particular track. Now you would need to replay the entire show and try and pick the introduction to the song... if the DJ even does that. Just another annoying limitation on iPlayer. I am waiting until they decide you need to be in the UK to listen to BBC radio like they already do with their BBC television iPlayer.

[NanLaew]

The BBC radio iPlayer will be discontinued in 'early November' and they are encouraging people to install their replacement 'Sounds' app to continue listening to radio, podcasts, etc.. It looks like their whole online access is maybe being streamlined. The Sounds sign-up does ask for your date of birth and location so we will see if/when it has geoblocking issues that need a VPN.

[Golden Triangle]

6 minutes ago, NanLaew said:

The BBC radio iPlayer will be discontinued in 'early November' and they are encouraging people to install their replacement 'Sounds' app to continue listening to radio, podcasts, etc.. It looks like their whole online access is maybe being streamlined. The Sounds sign-up does ask for your date of birth and location so we will see if/when it has geoblocking issues that need a VPN.

You'll be fine with the Sounds app, I have it on my smart TV, phone & Alexa, no geolocation issues at all. I think ( I'm not 100%) that if you were signed up for the radio player you can automatically sign into the Sounds app.

[Hamus Yaigh]

Thanks guys. I wondered what was going on?

 

As for music shows it seems the Sounds version of a BBC show playlist now has links to tracks on Spotify if you want to listen to a specific track but it's for only about 50% of the tracks, the rest there's nothing, listen to whole show and figure it out sort of thing? This seems a bit clunkier than than just having a play button next to each track of old, now gone forever. An interesting explanation is found at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBC_Sounds where I particularity liked (sarcasm) the comment "Some broadsheet newspapers have claimed that these changes disproportionately affect older listeners," which I guess we can all relate to here!

 

This Spotify method doesn't crack it for me. I have noticed on the net some useful Python code that creates Youtube links for any track on a BBC Sounds playlist - which is my preferred workaround as I get a 80%++ hit rate. Not a Spotify user myself, but may go for the Spotify method once I figure how to download the stuff (individual tracks on a BBC playlist) for free.

Edited October 25, 2020 by Hamus Yaigh

[Hamus Yaigh]

On a positive note if the BBC Sounds web page offers a link to Spotify for a track, there's a neat addon for Chromium users called Spotify & Deezer Music Downloader that puts a download button next to each track on Spotify without  needing a premium account, 320kbps quality mp3 and full ID3 tags data included. I'll use this when possible I think.