BBC shows on streaming services such as Amazon and Netflix will remain available despite the launch of new service BBC Store.
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The BBC says the Store supports plans to raise more commercial income to supplement the licence fee, and is the same principal as being able to buy programmes on VHS or DVD.
Now, as more viewing shifts to digital, BBC Store allows audiences to choose from a selection of recently broadcast programmes; television favourites and lost gems from the BBC archive, making it the most comprehensive collection of BBC programmes ever published.
The BBC’s commercial director Bal Samra added: “BBC Store, operated by BBC Worldwide, is the result of fantastic collaboration with the creative industry to make more of the treasure trove of BBC programmes available than ever before and develop a new source of revenue to more of the United Kingdom creative industry”. For a start, programs can only be bought using UK-registered credit or debit cards – meaning the service isn’t going to be useful for people outside of the UK.
Dan Taylor-Watt, the head of BBC iPlayer, added, “The launch of BBC Store coincides with a significant milestone in the evolution of BBC iPlayer: the addition of “Places to buy” links, enabling users to discover programs to buy and keep and to watch BBC Store purchases back on iPlayer”.
The BBC calculates it’ll have over 7,000 hours of programming available to buy from today, with shows including “Sherlock”, recent episodes of “Doctor Who” and a glittering hoard of David Attenborough documentaries, alongside offerings from the vaults such as Dennis Potter plays and “Dad’s Army” – which has never been available to snap up as a digital download before.
BBC Store will feature new exclusive content for Top Gear fans including Top Gear: The Races, in which Matt LeBlanc guides viewers through the most memorable moments from the show’s racing archive. Shows are priced at £1.89, with full series available for £7.99.
You’ll find your freshly obtained BBC Store content in a new “Purchased” section under the My Programmes tab of iPlayer.
Also, buying content from the BBC Store will make it available to watch through the iPlayer website. Users can also elect to buy programmes in Standard Definition, or, for a little more, in High Definition.
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Users can visit the BBC Store to buy and download single episodes or entire series of shows, including past series of Doctor Who and the first series of Poldark.
