BBC's online revamp continues

The BBC is introducing a new look and feel to the BBC News and BBC Sport websites.

The changes will begin next week and are part of the process of redesigning the whole of bbc.co.uk, after the new homepage was launched last month.

According to the BBC, the new look will involve a new embedded video service, extra emphasis around breaking news and live events, and wider page designs.

The embedded media player lets visitors watch video within the story rather than in a separate pop-up window.

The BBC has already been experimenting with embedded video in some news items and claims it has seen a tenfold increase in the number of people watching the videos.

According to the BBC's John O'Donovan, writing on the BBC Internet blog recently, the embedded video player is made possible by using Flash technology rather than videos that require RealPlayer or Windows Media Player to play them.

Talking about the revamp, the BBC's Pete Clifton said: "This is the start of a rolling programme to refresh our sites and introduce exciting new designs and features across our services.

"All the changes are focused on showcasing our unbeatable content, underlining our reputation for breaking news, coverage of live sport, and brilliant reporting and analysis from our local, national and international journalists," he continued.

The changes are to be ongoing, with further improvements to design and functionality made later on in the year, the BBC said.

www.bbc.co.uk/news
www.bbc.co.uk/sport