Knowledge Multiplatform Strategy

“We're looking to invest in multiplatform projects that fundamentally transform how people can build knowledge”

Ayesha Mohideen, Head of Knowledge Multiplatform Commissioning

The Knowledge Multiplatform Vision

The BBC has been informing and educating its audiences since its foundation. It has built a reputation as one of the greatest knowledge-building organisations in the world. We want to extend this experience beyond radio and television and deliver knowledge-building that sets the standard on digital platforms too.

Knowledge Multiplatform's aim is to create a world-class treasury of knowledge, connecting the BBC, the public and the wider web to help people understand and explore their world. Through the use of digital platforms, we aim to evolve our relationship with audiences by giving them the power to chart their own routes through content, to make connections within it and contribute to it. We aim also to transform the way in which the BBC makes content and services for all audiences across all platforms, and improve its ability to deliver on its public purposes.

This vision will guide all our output within the Knowledge Multiplatform portfolio.

Objectives

1. To deliver a knowledge-building framework consisting of:
   1. a world-class programme support proposition
   2. a strong, coherent, defined portfolio of products that offers consistent, knowledge-building benefits to audiences
   3. simple, useful navigational practices that connect knowledge-building offerings so that users can find what they are looking for and explore further, both within and beyond the BBC
2. To create new forms of knowledge-building experiences that complement television and radio by drawing on the unique capacities of digital platforms
3. To approach everything we build with the aims of:
   1. making it available to users globally and permanently and, where appropriate, in such a way as they can embed it, share it and meaningfully contribute to it
   2. connecting and promoting journeys through relevant BBC content - regardless of its format and through the best of the rest of the web, to create stronger, more useful knowledge-building experiences for users
   3. separating content from presentation to enable content both to be produced once and reused in many ways, and to be easily found and linked to from across the web so that users can more effortlessly draw on the BBC's knowledge-building expertise
4. To open up the BBC's archive of knowledge-building television and radio output, in long-form and short-form, and showcase it to audiences intelligently and innovatively to release its inherent public value in the public service space wherever possible
5. To forge public value partnerships that result in new, creative offerings to users by building on the BBC's unique knowledge-building strengths with those of a partner. These may take the form of traditional partnerships with knowledge-building organisations or instead embody a commitment to openness
6. To transform the way in which programmes are commissioned and produced by exploring new ways in which multiplatform and linear work together

The Knowledge Multiplatform Audience

At the heart of the BBC's strategy is an ambition to enrich the life of every person in the UK, and this is just as true in digital platforms as it is in television. Rather than changing who we can reach, digital platforms can fundamentally transform how we engage them.

With this in mind, the overall audience objective for the Knowledge multiplatform strategy is to deliver a portfolio of services that collectively reach a broad, large-scale cross-section of the UK population.

This portfolio objective will be achieved through a mix of targeted offers: including content with mainstream, mass appeal as well as experiences that are well loved by relatively niche audiences. It will also include offers that engage people from all age groups and those that actively target younger, older or family groups.

All should be highly appreciated and use the unique strengths of digital platforms to evolve the ways in which audiences understand, explore and engage with the world.

Types of Knowledge Multiplatform Content and Services

Programmes

To bring clarity and focus to our programme activity, three programme types have been identified, each with a unique role to play in the overall knowledge-building portfolio:

1. Automated programme support for every BBC programme.
2. Archive programme information, where it exists, about every BBC broadcast since its foundation.
3. Major multiplatform treatments of key programmes. These are treatments that will create high impact moments with the audience and drive reach, reputation or both. They offer means to innovate by finding audience-facing applications for the latest new media developments that will transform the audience's experience of the programme. We will aim to commission approximately 20 major multiplatform treatments a year.

Products

A "product" in the context of knowledge-building in the multiplatform environment is defined as "an audience-facing online tool or service focussing on delivering one clear user benefit".

Through products, the BBC can deliver a new generation of knowledge-building public services designed from their inception for connected digital platforms. For our audiences, products represent a range of distinctive, valuable new tools and services from the BBC that serve a really useful purpose in their lives. We will prioritise new spend on products and focus on 4 sub-genres for investment in products: Science, Natural History, Arts, and History.

To bring clarity and focus to our product activity, five product types have been identified, each with a unique role to play in the overall knowledge-building portfolio:

1. Content Publishing: The vast majority of current BBC online activity falls into this category, establishing a defined format, e.g. a news story, programme clip or recipe and publishing content into that format. These kinds of services are the cornerstone of our knowledge-building activity and crucial to growing our reputation as a trusted source of useful, relevant information online.
2. Open content platforms: YouTube, Wikipedia and others have transformed the web by defining similar content formats - but not limiting authorship to their selected experts. Instead they have opened their formats up to communities of users, unleashing a wave of untapped creativity and knowledge. We are looking to commission products which harness these same kinds of mass collaboration effects to achieve entirely new forms of collective knowledge building.
3. Tools & Applications: These deliver knowledge-building value through software and technology, rather than content. We are looking to commission tools and applications that communicate or explain information in formats that are more accessible, interactive and relevant to the needs of certain audiences.
4. Games: Knowledge-building through gameplay is a rapidly evolving area. We are interested in a few, genuinely ambitious applications that help hard to reach audiences build knowledge through casual gameplay online.
5. Blogs: We will consider commissioning a small number of exceptional blogging ideas that harness expert commentators and strong authorial voices.

Key Considerations

In light of our strategic aims, the following will be considered for all commissions:

1. Purpose: In what ways will it help people understand and explore their world?
2. Performance: What is the primary performance goal of the idea?
3. Audience: What type and scale of audience will it attract?
4. Priority: Will it meet our programme, product, navigation or genre priorities?
5. Connected: Can it link in with the rest of the BBC and the web? What role could partnerships play?
6. Multiplatform: In what ways will it demonstrate the unique strengths of digital platforms?
7. Innovation: Will it transform how the BBC, industry or audiences engage with Knowledge content?
8. Availability: Will it be made available globally and permanently? Can it be shared and embedded?
9. Archive: In what ways will it use and build BBC archive TV, text or radio?
10. Distinctive: What unique role does it enable MP Knowledge to play?

You can also download a PDF version of the Knowledge Multiplatform Strategy (117 KB).

The Knowledge Multiplatform Commissioning Team

Ayesha Mohideen		Head of Knowledge Multiplatform Commissioning
Nick Cohen		Commissioning Executive Arts, Music and Events, Documentaries, Features and Formats on BBC ONE and TWO
Lisa Sargood		Commissioning Executive Science & Natural History
Max Gadney		Commissioning Executive Religion, Features, Formats and Specialist Factual on BBC Three, History and Business and Current Affairs

Page last updated 20 August 2009