The BBC is seeking a piece of the binge-TV-watching pie and wants to move iPlayer from a catch-up service to a full-on streaming one, in the same ilk as Netflix.
The transition, which is only in the planning stages, was announced by the BBC’s director general Tony Hall in a new year’s speech to staff, as iPlayer approaches its tenth birthday. "We need it to make the leap from a catch-up service to a must-visit destination in its own right," he said. By 2020 he wants the service to be totally reinvented. That means, apparently, a tonne more programming, with plans to double weekly users to 20 million and quadruple hours watched on average at any one time, to two hours. “That's tough, but I know we can do it,” said Hall.
It was suggested this could be achieved by making entire series available before they have been aired, Netflix-style. Netflix, of course, does not have the added complication of also having a channel that will stick to programmed viewing in unison. It’s unlikely some of the BBC’s flagship dramas would move to this model as a result, however, since they are still competing during prime time slots with the likes of ITV and Channel 4 for viewers.
“We all know we can never stand still - we always need to generate new ideas, innovate further, and take greater risks,” said Hall. “This is what has to motivate us constantly in all our traditionally delivered services but now we also need to look again to the online space, where competition is highest, new audiences are most present, and where I believe we can serve them in brilliant new ways.”
“We need to do the same for audio - or radio. Today we have the best speech and music radio in the world. I think we can do so much more with our world-class content. And, by the way, win new global audiences.”
Last September, the BBC announced that iPlayer would move to a registration system, that many suspected could be driven by a desire to track people not paying their license fee. However, the BBC said the move was part of an overhaul of the service designed to bring data-driven, personalised content to viewers, presumably in an effort to mimic the likes of Netflix in pushing specific content. This may have been the first stage of laying the groundwork for what needs to be done to achieve the stated 2020 goals. The new account system will be fully in place early this year.
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
