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| BBC Worldwide to take on Netflix, Amazon and Hulu with new strategy | BBC Worldwide to take on Netflix, Amazon and Hulu with new strategy |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| BBC Worldwide chief Tim Davie has unveiled his vision for the future of the corporation's commercial arm, including a major rethink of its digital strategy. | BBC Worldwide chief Tim Davie has unveiled his vision for the future of the corporation's commercial arm, including a major rethink of its digital strategy. |
| On Friday, Davie told staff that plans for a global iPlayer app had been scrapped, unveiled plans to roll out its digital store into BBC.com, and announced a £30m-a-year increase in programming investment, including a new drama from the writer of The X-Files. | |
| The plan for a new standalone subscription-based iPlayer app for global markets, which was first mooted in 2010 and has been in market testing for two years, is to be dropped. | The plan for a new standalone subscription-based iPlayer app for global markets, which was first mooted in 2010 and has been in market testing for two years, is to be dropped. |
| Davie said that BBC Worldwide has too many different websites and digital propositions, and there needed to be more focus to compete against rivals such as Hulu, Netflix and Amazon. | Davie said that BBC Worldwide has too many different websites and digital propositions, and there needed to be more focus to compete against rivals such as Hulu, Netflix and Amazon. |
| The global iPlayer app will be folded into a revamped BBC.com, which will include a new long-form video player. | The global iPlayer app will be folded into a revamped BBC.com, which will include a new long-form video player. |
| "It is purely a branding question: if you want content you go to BBC.com," he said. "It has been too fragmented and [globally] it is a ferocious market dominated by US and Asian players – like Hulu, Netflix and Amazon – and we have to have scale and a real competitive edge." | "It is purely a branding question: if you want content you go to BBC.com," he said. "It has been too fragmented and [globally] it is a ferocious market dominated by US and Asian players – like Hulu, Netflix and Amazon – and we have to have scale and a real competitive edge." |
| Davie said there is a three-year plan to develop BBC.com – part of achieving the vision director general Tony Hall laid out last week of doubling global reach from 250 million to 500 million a week by 2022 – and added that content payment systems could be tailored to individual markets. | Davie said there is a three-year plan to develop BBC.com – part of achieving the vision director general Tony Hall laid out last week of doubling global reach from 250 million to 500 million a week by 2022 – and added that content payment systems could be tailored to individual markets. |
| BBC.com will also include a digital store where international consumers will be able to buy, watch and keep programmes. | |
| Davie also unveiled eight-part drama series The Intruders, penned by The X-Files writer and executive producer Glen Morgan, which is based on Michael Marshall Smith's best-selling novel. | Davie also unveiled eight-part drama series The Intruders, penned by The X-Files writer and executive producer Glen Morgan, which is based on Michael Marshall Smith's best-selling novel. |
| The show, made for BBC America but with plans to bring it to the the UK, was announced alongside plans to boost BBC Worldwide's content spend by £30m a year to £200m. | The show, made for BBC America but with plans to bring it to the the UK, was announced alongside plans to boost BBC Worldwide's content spend by £30m a year to £200m. |
| The 18% increase, which will be used for a range of content initiatives including "investing in distinctive premium British content", will be funded by making BBC Worldwide a "leaner more efficient company", said Davie. | The 18% increase, which will be used for a range of content initiatives including "investing in distinctive premium British content", will be funded by making BBC Worldwide a "leaner more efficient company", said Davie. |
| One example is that BBC Worldwide will stop making games based on its intellectual property – it will close down a games production unit in Los Angeles, although it will still look to licence games and strike partnerships. | One example is that BBC Worldwide will stop making games based on its intellectual property – it will close down a games production unit in Los Angeles, although it will still look to licence games and strike partnerships. |
| The third major strand of Davie's plans to make the BBC more globally focused is to launch a new channel, BBC First, that will be the home of premium BBC drama. | The third major strand of Davie's plans to make the BBC more globally focused is to launch a new channel, BBC First, that will be the home of premium BBC drama. |
| The channel, which will include comedy, will launch first in Australia on the pay-TV Foxtel platform next August. | The channel, which will include comedy, will launch first in Australia on the pay-TV Foxtel platform next August. |
| Davie said that it will sit alongside BBC Earth, its brand for natural history and science content, and an as-yet-unnamed third channel brand that will "target male audiences with a blend of content that raises the bar in the factual entertainment space and an approach which captures the maverick spirit of the BBC's best shows". | Davie said that it will sit alongside BBC Earth, its brand for natural history and science content, and an as-yet-unnamed third channel brand that will "target male audiences with a blend of content that raises the bar in the factual entertainment space and an approach which captures the maverick spirit of the BBC's best shows". |
| He summed up the plans as a three-pronged effort to properly globalise the BBC. | He summed up the plans as a three-pronged effort to properly globalise the BBC. |
| "They combine an increased commitment to content investment with new BBC content brands alongside a more powerful and unified digital engine," he said. | "They combine an increased commitment to content investment with new BBC content brands alongside a more powerful and unified digital engine," he said. |
| "Taken together, these three investment priorities will serve to grow the BBC's footprint across the world, both via our own services and our important third-party sales, resulting in greater access by audiences to BBC and British content and sustainable cash flows back to the BBC." | "Taken together, these three investment priorities will serve to grow the BBC's footprint across the world, both via our own services and our important third-party sales, resulting in greater access by audiences to BBC and British content and sustainable cash flows back to the BBC." |
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