In yet another sign Netflix has brought radical change to the way viewers consume streamed content, the BBC’s iPlayer is to be given a complete revamp.
The changes are a direct result of competition the BBC is experiencing from Netflix and the different way viewers, especially younger ones, want to consume television, the Guardian reported.
The BBC expects iPlayer to evolve into the main gateway for viewers to see its output, and it intends to make shows available for up to a year by default, rather than the current 30-day maximum.
Five years ago, iPlayer had a 40% share of the UK streaming market, but this has plummeted to just 15%. The fall is attributed to Netflix and comes as a host of new streaming services prepare to hit the market and, potentially, further dent iPlayer’s market share.
In a speech last night, the BBC’s director general Tony Hall was due to describe the changes as “a new front door for British creativity”, according to the Guardian – while promising the BBC will offer “unprecedented levels of creative freedom” for programme makers and a “broader shop window” on BBC platforms – while admitting that the organisation cannot take on its bigger-resourced US rivals in financial terms.
Charlotte Moore, the BBC’s director of content, said: “iPlayer will become the heart of everything we do; the gateway to all our programmes – a ‘total TV’ experience, which will bring everything you want from BBC television into one place for the first time.”
No date has yet been announced for the relaunch, which will be the fourth for iPlayer since it was introduced 12 years ago.
Meanwhile, across the Atlantic, Disney has banned Netflix ads on all of its entertainment TV and digital platforms as it prepares to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on marketing its new streaming service.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Disney is joining Comcast Corp and AT&T with big marketing pushes over the coming year; Disney+, its premium TV and movie-streaming service, will launch next month. Analysts see the new Disney platform as being in direct competition with Netflix. Apple, NBCUniversal, and WarnerMedia also plan to launch streaming services in the near future.
Sourced from the Guardian, Wall Street Journal; additional content by WARC staff
