BBC Worldwide has teamed up with artificial intelligence start-up Thoughtly to explore how machine learning can help it understand which genres of content are most in demand in which territories. Following an initial trial of Thoughtly's technology, the pair have completed a detailed analysis looking at synopses and descriptions of programming alongside data mining to figure out how best to categorise individual programme titles. Thoughtly's flagship platform, Ellipse, is designed to map themes, generate summaries and identify anomalies in text. It was originally designed to assist researchers in academic institutions to draw insights from very large volumes of text, such as helping medical researchers identify unexpected anomalies in large clinical data sets or help scientific researchers navigate unstructured text for automated screening of'noisy' data sets. BBC Worldwide is using the technology to identify themes that are under or over-represented in its content, to identify recurring and possibly unseen patterns across the various genres in it catalogue, identify which themes have grown and which have declined over the years and generally build a deeper understanding of its content with the objective of matching it with the most relevant audiences both for the BBC itself and for its client broadcasters, according to David Boyle, EVP of insight.

BBC Worldwide today announces a partnership with start-up Thoughtly, leaders in artificial intelligence solutions. With the rate and magnitude of content produced, consumed and disseminated growing the support of even more sophisticated technology is crucial. This, the latest partnership for BBC Worldwide's Insight team, offers an opportunity to explore how machine learning can support its commitment in gaining a deeper understanding of which genres are most in demand, and where. Following an initial trial, BBC Worldwide and Thoughtly have recently completed a more detailed piece of analysis – which includes looking at synopses and descriptions of programmes alongside data mining- to tease out more detail as how best to categorise individual titles. David Boyle, EVP Insight, BBC Worldwide said: "We are excited that Thoughtly can help us reveal patterns and trends previously unknown and hidden in our content. "Through working with Thoughtly, and utilising machine learning, we are building a deeper understanding of our content so that it can be paired with the most relevant audiences for both the BBC Worldwide and our partners." We are working together to answer some key analytical questions including: What are the recurring and elusive patterns that transcend the various genres in our catalogue? And how have themes evolved over the years - which have grown, declined, appeared and dissipated?"

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