It’s not clear yet whether the new OTT service will come with the iPlayer brand, but the BBC does say it won’t affect current programming at all – it will be used exclusively for BBC content that doesn’t already have a distribution channel in the U.S.
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The BBC already broadcasts many of its shows on the BBC America channel here in the US, such as “Doctor Who” and “Orphan Black“, but today Reuters said the British network will launch an over-the-top (OTT) streaming service that will offer programs not currently available in the Americas.
Lord Hall said the BBC is also planning to bolster its internal production division to generate more commercial income.
If you’re a cable cutter and a BBC fan in the US, you’re in luck – the British public broadcaster has announced it will launch a new streaming service stateside next year. Culture secretary John Whittingdale has openly mooted the possibility of selling off BBC Worldwide, the BBC’s commercial arm that sells its programs around the world and previously described his frustration at the seeming lack of direction at the organization. “It is because of its special relationship with the BBC that it has scale”.
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What was unfortunately absent from that exciting announcement was an expected launch date, price, or even what the name of the thing will be, so we can’t exactly sure what this service will look like exactly. It’s most likely our favorite space-and-time-faring adventure may not be packed into this particular service since BBC America and AMC have a Whovian pact of sorts. “That means that all the commercial returns – all of it – is put back into the BBC”. “While every major global player is creating a more integrated system, it would make no sense for us to go the other way and break up a system that is delivering returns that are essential to support public service programs”, he told delegates at the Royal Television Society convention in Cambridge, England, on Thursday. It would make it harder for the BBC to diversify its revenues still further.
