BBC to stream leader debate on Facebook
The BBC will stream tonight’s live political leaders debate on Facebook, a first for the broadcaster.
It will also stream the debate on its own website’s live political debate page.
The front page will feature a news ticker providing updates which will click through to the live debate page.
The BBC’s political correspondents will provide updates via Twitter throughout the debate, and users can give their reactions live via the Have Your Say message board.
The broadcaster will also use a Worm tool, similar to the one used by ITV.com two weeks ago, which will show changes in audience reaction.
Steve Herrmann, editor of BBC News interactive, said a new transcript application will be available on the site, which the broadcaster used for the first time last week. This will enable viewers who missed the live stream to watch the parts of the debate that are of most interest to them. They can skip through to the parts they want to see via a search tool.
“This is a great way to navigate on-demand on the site and allows you to go back over the debate at your leisure, choosing the bits that are of interest to you,” she said.
The BBC will provide an embed code which will open up the debate for third-party sites to stream, as Sky did last week (nma.co.uk 29 April 2010).
CNN was first to partner with Facebook to provide live streaming of Barack Obama’s inauguration.
This story first appeared on newmediaage.co.uk
