A new look for BBC World Service on Freeview
If you've ever used Freeview to hear the BBC World Service you may have noticed the screen. It was blue, static, very blue and, er, blue. Did I mention it was blue?
BBC World Service - before and after
OK, it was a nice enough shade of blue but hardly a triumph of functional design or user interaction.
For years, this was all the visualisation possible within our meagre bandwidth allocation. But thanks to a recent reshuffle of services on the digital television multiplexes, we can extend the full Red Button radio interface to listeners of the BBC World Service in the UK - around one and a half million of them at the last count.
Our new Red Button service on Freeview gives you live information about the BBC World Service including what's on now and next, the full programme schedule, the latest world news headlines and highlights of what's coming soon.
Why is this important? Well, the BBC World Service comprises live world news with investigations, documentaries, debate and discussion, and daily business, science, arts and sport. It's a big mix so we try all we can to help listeners around our schedule to the programmes that interest them most.
The new service on Freeview is designed to do just that. Oh, and the screen is now red and white, not blue. Such is progress.
Steve Martin is the editor of promotion and navigation at the BBC World Service.
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