Pick and mix
A guide to the pick and mix media model for television and radio service discovery.
The pick and mix media approach to service discovery
Lists of services are useful ways of organising services for particular contexts. A national list of services is easy to understand, but what happens when we want to include services from other countries or international sources?
Merging lists creates problems. There can only be one number one service in a fixed list, so conflicts are inevitable.
A single multinational or global list would be difficult to manage and hard to navigate, with many services irrelevant to most users.
Switching between multiple lists may be inconvenient for users who want simple service selection.
One solution is to allow users to select services from multiple lists and compose their own list. We have named this service discovery model ‘pick and mix’.
What is pick and mix in television and radio?
The term ‘pick and mix’ describes a model for television and radio service discovery in which users select services from multiple sources and combine them into their own custom list.
Instead of relying on a single predefined channel list, users can choose what they want to include, creating a set of services that reflects their personal preferences, interests, location, and language.
This does not mean merging lists into one system-defined order. It means selecting services from different lists and composing a custom list. Users pick from one or more lists to create their own selection. This is the pick and mix model.
How does pick and mix service discovery work?
Pick and mix service discovery works by separating three functions:
- discovering available service lists
- presenting curated collections of services
- enabling users to select services into their own list
Users can browse different lists, such as national services, genre-based collections, or international sources. From these, they can add individual services to a custom list, such as “My channels”.
The result is a user-defined lineup rather than a system-defined one.
How is pick and mix different from traditional channel lists?
Traditional channel lists are generally:
- fixed by a single provider or authority
- ordered in a defined sequence
- numbered with logical channel numbers
- limited to a single country or platform
Pick and mix differs in that it:
- allows multiple lists to coexist
- removes the need for a single order
- enables users to select services individually
- supports services from different providers and regions
Channel lists remain useful as curated collections, but they are no longer the only way users access services.
Why are channel lists not enough for online services?
While traditional television services may be constrained by spectrum, capacity, or simply the way that they are navigated, there is no practical limit to the number of services available online.
There are thousands of television and radio services available around the world.
- international services span national markets
- categories are more useful than position
- names are more important than numbers
In this environment, a single ordered list becomes difficult to manage and less useful for users.
Pick and mix allows services to be discovered and selected without requiring a single authoritative list.
Why does radio require a pick and mix approach?
Radio highlights the limitations of traditional list models as it is less limited by territorial rights. Although there are many radio stations, often available internationally online, users typically listen to a small set of their favourites.
As a result, users are more likely to:
- search for specific stations
- browse by genre or interest
- save favourites
A pick and mix approach reflects this behaviour by allowing users to build their own list from multiple sources.
How do users find services in a pick and mix system?
Discovery in a pick and mix system typically includes:
- search by name
- browse by genre or location
- filter by categories or tags
How do users build their own television or radio lineup?
In a pick and mix model, users typically:
- discover services by searching or browsing
- select individual services
- add services to a custom list
This custom list becomes the primary interface for regular use, avoiding the need to navigate large, fixed lists.
How does pick and mix relate to federation, aggregation, and composition?
Pick and mix corresponds to the composition layer in a broader model:
- federation enables multiple sources of service lists
- aggregation provides curated lists of services
- composition allows users to select and combine services
Pick and mix is the user-facing expression of composition. It allows services from different lists to be combined without requiring those lists to be merged.
Does pick and mix replace channel numbers?
Pick and mix reduces the importance of channel numbers.
In traditional systems, channel numbers determine:
- order of services in a list
- prominence of services of public value
- navigation through a fixed list
In a pick and mix model:
- discovery is based on search, categories, and lists
- selection is the basis of a custom list
- ordering is personal or contextual
Channel numbers may still exist in specific contexts, but they are no longer essential.
What are the implications of pick and mix for prominence?
There are provisions for the regulation of prominence in many territories to preserve access to services of public value. This ensures that such services are visible, available, easy to access, and not restricted or obscured by platform operators or other gatekeepers.
There are also often provisions that allow users to customise lists of services to meet their own requirements. This supports product innovation and consumer choice.
These policies are in tension, but they are not mutually incompatible.
A pick and mix model separates these concerns. It allows national or regional service lists to express prominence, while allowing users to select services from those lists to create their own custom lineup.
The use of “Favourites” or custom channel lists is already well established across many platforms and products. This shows how prominence and personalisation can coexist in practice.
In this way, services of public value can be made made available and easy to discover, while still supporting user choice and flexibility in how services are accessed and organised.
Will television and radio move towards a pick and mix model?
Television is already moving in this direction as:
- online delivery becomes more widespread
- international services become more accessible
- personalised experiences become a user expectation
While traditional channel lists remain important, especially in regulated environments, the underlying model is evolving.
Pick and mix provides a way to create a coherent user-defined experience that combines:
- broadcast services
- online services
- services from multiple providers
Conclusion
Pick and mix shifts the focus from fixed lists to multiple sources of services, with user-driven selection to create more personalised experiences.
In practice, personal lists do not have to be entirely static. Many products already adapt to user behaviour, for example by highlighting frequently used services. A pick and mix model is compatible with these approaches, allowing personal lists to evolve over time while still being grounded in user choice.
Media providers can announce their services in service lists. Users can discover and select from these lists to create their own custom lineups. This model reflects the realities of modern media, where choice is abundant and consumers expect convenience and control.
The Service List Registry supports this approach by providing a structured way for media providers to announce services and for service lists to be discovered and accessed across multiple sources. This enables pick and mix service discovery in a consistent and interoperable way.