A method for selecting content to be presented, the method comprising: receiving, using a hardware processor, a request, from a user, for a first video content item; and characterized in evaluating, using the hardware processor, at least one property of the first video content item requested by the user to determine whether the first video content item requested by the user is suitable for presentation in a background playback mode in which audio data of video content items is played back and for which presentation based on the video data of the video content items is inhibited so that the audio data of the first video content item is presented without presenting the video data of the first video content item; and in response to determining that the first video content item requested by the user is not suitable for presentation in the background playback mode, setting, using the hardware processor, a background playback mode indicator associated with the first video content item to indicate that the first video content item is not suitable for presentation in the background playback mode and selecting a second video content item that is different from the first content item requested by the user and in which the background playback mode indicator associated with the second video content item indicates that the second video content item is suitable for presentation in the background playback mode; wherein the at least one property of the first video content item that is evaluated to determine whether the first video content item requested by the user is suitable for presentation in a background playback mode comprises one or more of: the presence or absence of silence or only static noise or the amount, proportion and/or length of periods of silence or only static noise relative to a threshold; the presence or the number and/or lengths of portions that include only dialogue; the overall length of the content item; a proportion of the audio data of the first video content item that does not include music; and/or the proportion of users that have skipped the content item when it is presented in background playback mode. receiving, using a hardware processor, a request, from a user, for a first video content item; and characterized in evaluating, using the hardware processor, at least one property of the first video content item requested by the user to determine whether the first video content item requested by the user is suitable for presentation in a background playback mode in which audio data of video content items is played back and for which presentation based on the video data of the video content items is inhibited so that the audio data of the first video content item is presented without presenting the video data of the first video content item; and in response to determining that the first video content item requested by the user is not suitable for presentation in the background playback mode, setting, using the hardware processor, a background playback mode indicator associated with the first video content item to indicate that the first video content item is not suitable for presentation in the background playback mode and selecting a second video content item that is different from the first content item requested by the user and in which the background playback mode indicator associated with the second video content item indicates that the second video content item is suitable for presentation in the background playback mode; wherein the at least one property of the first video content item that is evaluated to determine whether the first video content item requested by the user is suitable for presentation in a background playback mode comprises one or more of: the presence or absence of silence or only static noise or the amount, proportion and/or length of periods of silence or only static noise relative to a threshold; the presence or the number and/or lengths of portions that include only dialogue; the overall length of the content item; a proportion of the audio data of the first video content item that does not include music; and/or the proportion of users that have skipped the content item when it is presented in background playback mode. the presence or absence of silence or only static noise or the amount, proportion and/or length of periods of silence or only static noise relative to a threshold; the presence or the number and/or lengths of portions that include only dialogue; the overall length of the content item; a proportion of the audio data of the first video content item that does not include music; and/or the proportion of users that have skipped the content item when it is presented in background playback mode.