BBC Unveils its Red-Button Interactive TV Schedule for the Coming Weeks

Submitted by tracyswedlow on August 17, 2009 - 1:24am

The BBC announced Friday the line-up of content that will be available through its red-button interactive TV service for the next two weeks (and beyond). Here are the highlights:

From August 28th through 30th (7:00PM-1:00AM nightly), digital viewers will be able to press red to access extensive live coverage of the Reading & Leeds Festival. The coverage will be presented by BBC Radio 1's Huw Stevens, and will center on performances from the festival's Main and Radio 1/NME stages. In addition, the daily red-button coverage will include Jo Whiley, Daniel P Carter or Mike Davies interviewing their favorite bands and exploring the festival site, as well as a selection of acoustic and "BBC Introducing" tracks. After the festival concludes Sunday, the BBC says that a new "standout set" will be made available through the red button each day (it will be accessible around the clock) from Monday, August 31st through Friday, September 4th. (Note: this red-button service will not be available on the UK's free-to-air digital satellite service, Freesat.)
From August 17th through 23rd, digital viewers will be able to press red to access performances from this summer's UK "melas" (festivals featuring Indian/South Asian music and other content) that have been filmed and assembled by BBC Asian Network. Featured performers will include Sukshinder Shinda, Imran Khan, Mumzy, and Outlandish. (Note: not available on Freesat.)
For the 2009 Proms season, BBC Red Button has launched a new feature called "Maestro Cam." Over the course of five Proms concerts, the corporation says, the feature will give digital viewers who press red a "unique insight" into the art of conducting via a dedicated camera that will "capture the conductor's every intonation and flourish." The camera's feed will be complemented by commentary from Matthew Rowe, Peter Stark and Jason Lai of BBC Two's "Maestro" series, who will explain the conductor's gestures and how they are interpreted by the orchestra. Conductors who have agreed to participate in the project include Daniel Barenboim, Vasily Petrenko and Ilan Volkov. The service, which debuted in conjunction with Prom 12 (note: for an inside look at the app, see the article published on itvt.com, July 30th), and was subsequently offered with Proms 31 and 38, will also be offered in conjunction with Proms 48 (August 21st, 7:30PM, BBC Four) and 57 (August 28th, 7:30PM, BBC Four). (Note: not available on Freesat.)
From 7:30PM on August 18th/19th, and from 2:30PM on August 22nd, digital viewers will be able to press red to access the soccer results show, "Final Score." And from 12:30AM on August 23rd (through noon), following the Saturday-night broadcast of the show, "Match of the Day," the BBC One Football League soccer round-up show, "The Football League Show," will also be available through the red button. Last Saturday, the BBC offered a show through the red button in which commentator, Mark Lawrenson, predicted how the 20 clubs in UK soccer's Premier League would fare this season.
From August 20th-24th, during the final match of the Ashes cricket test series between England and Australia, digital viewers will be able to press red to access live commentary from BBC Radio's Test Match team, led by Jonathan Agnew, as well as live scorecards and statistics.
From August 15th-23rd, digital viewers can press red to access coverage of the 12th IAAF Athletics World Championships in Berlin. The coverage consists of looped re-runs of BBC Two's live coverage, as well as a daily 20- to 30-minute highlights program featuring action from the event's morning and evening sessions.
In the run-up to the European and Belgian Formula 1 Grands Prix, digital viewers will be able to press red to access coverage of all on-track sessions, including Friday and Saturday practice and qualifying sessions. They will also be able to access re-runs of classic Grands Prix. Then, during the races themselves, they will be able to access a choice of three streams featuring split-screen in-car camera feeds, leaderboards and rolling highlights, with the option of listening to either network or BBC Radio 5 Live commentary. Finally, after the races have been run, digital viewers will be able to access a post-race analysis show, and, the BBC says, highlights will often also be available the following day. (Note: red-button coverage of the European Grand Prix is available August 21st-25th, and red-button coverage of the Belgian Grand Prix is available August 27th-30th.)
From 6:30PM on August 24th, through 8:30AM the next day, digital viewers will be able to press red to access "The Super League Show," a program that reviews the previous weekend's Rugby League action. This coverage, and all the sports coverage listed above, is offered through the BBC Sport Multiscreen, a 24/7 red-button application that provides up to five screens of extra coverage as well as round-the-clock headlines.
During the August 22nd broadcast of the show, "The National Lottery: Guestimation" (showcases the UK lottery's Dream Number draw, which raises funds for a number of the venues that will be hosting events at the 2012 London Olympics and Paralympics), digital viewers will be able to press red to play along with contestants. (Note: not available on Freesat.)
Nightly through August 25th, starting at approximately 9:00PM, fans of the BBC Two comedy-drama, "Taking the Flak" (follows the progress of a small African war through the eyes of journalists sending home nightly reports for the Ten O'Clock News), will be able to press red to access new material and exclusive footage from the show's location in Africa. (Note: not available on Freesat.)