Auntie hires API firm to manage new online BBC Store

API company Apigee has been brought in to pull together all the suppliers of BBC Worldwide’s "direct-to-consumer retail platform". The software will be used as a traffic manager.

In the world of inclined playing fields, little beats your TV licence fee going towards setting up an online store to compete with online stores that are not governmentally subsidised, so at least it’s good to see some of that money spent on software development.

“BBC Worldwide has a very complex multi-tier IT architecture, using a variety of suppliers to provide a variety of platforms developed for video on demand delivery.

"Apigee Edge will act as the internal API management platform, mediating and brokering all traffic from application to application and maximising interoperability between front-end and back-end systems.

"The deal was signed in July 2014 and Apigee has completed the project blueprint, outlining best practices on how to develop, expose and consume APIs across the business.“

We imagine this means that BBC has so many solutions from so many different vendors it can just about cope internally, but it’s in no fit state to put into a store which will sell content to the outside world.

BBC Worldwide's e-commerce arm is currently focusing on on-demand content and products.

The BBC Worldwide store will compete with Amazon, Netflix and the other video on demand services.

Michael Fleshman, SVP Consumer Digital Technology at BBC Worldwide, said: “BBC Store will allow fans of programmes such as Doctor Who, Sherlock and Top Gear to buy and keep digital copies of their favourite shows. Consumers will also be able to explore and buy from the BBC's extensive archive.” ®