Alexa, why won’t the BBC let you wake me up?

SOME like to be eased from their slumber by a spot of Radio 2. Others prefer to be roused by a rowdy interview on Radio 4.

But from today, users of the Amazon Echo – known for its Alexa voice-recognition system – will no longer be able to set their alarm to turn on with live BBC radio.

The corporation has withdrawn its support for TuneIn, the popular radio streaming app, on Amazon’s smart speakers. Users will lose the option of having stations as an alarm and will have to access BBC channels by talking to the gadget.

Andrew McIlwaine wrote on the BBC website: ‘Really fed-up about this Beeb, Amazon and TuneIn. I’ve been waking up to the Today programme for as long as I can remember. No longer from Monday. You need to get your heads together and put your listeners first!’ Another gadget owner added: ‘As I use Alexa as an alarm set to Radio 4, I am very annoyed. It is a serious inconvenience.

‘I will have to search out a commercial channel to wake up to. I guess I must retire from Radio 4 in sympathy with John Humphrys.’

A third recalled the furore over TV licences for over-75s, writing: ‘No free TV for the elderly, now taking away the ability to enjoy radio programmes on Echo devices. Come on BBC, you must do better.’ Kieran Clifton, BBC director of distribution and business development, blamed the change on TuneIn failing to provide meaningful data feedback.

He wrote: ‘When we make our programmes available via third parties, we ask that those platforms either allow you to sign into your BBC account – or provide us with meaningful data directly.’