The BBC plans to expand its iPlayer streaming service in the future, opening it up to include programmes from other major UK broadcasters.
This could include ad-supported content, although the Beeb's own shows will remain ad-free.
The face of UK TV streaming is changing rapidly. ITVX includes Disney+ content and vice versa, Channel 4's online service includes programming from the U network, while Freely is altering the landscape of free-to-air live TV by offering all major channels over the internet.Convergence is seemingly key to combatting the big US services, such as Netflix and Prime Video, and it looks like the BBC is set to get in on the action too.
It has detailed plans to expand BBC iPlayer in the coming years, to make it more than the streaming home of BBC shows and movies.The corporation has published a lengthy response to government proposals for the public service broadcaster's future. And its "A BBC For All" document outlines a different kind of iPlayer – one that could include content from rival UK broadcasters:"We are proposing that iPlayer could be opened to other PSBs (and their commercial services)," it says (via ISP Review).This would include systems for additional broadcaster to continue their own revenue methods – through advertising support or subscriptions – while the BBC's own content remains free."This could help ensure the UK retains a streaming platform that competes with global services and remains a first choice for audiences."There are also similar plans to open the BBC Sounds radio and podcast app to third-parties.
Could iPlayer become the only streaming service you'll need for UK TV?
It's hard to see ITV completely joining forces with the BBC over such a move, although it does currently offer ITVX programming on Amazon's Prime Video service, so there is a blueprint for a potential collaboration. It could similarly be offered as a separate subscription channel within iPlayer, perhaps.Certainly, all the major UK broadcasters share a common ambition to see Freely succeed as the nation's next-generation live TV service. So maybe they can find common ground when it comes to a catch-up platform too – whether that be iPlayer or a new combined service.Either way, these are interesting times for TV in the UK, as we head towards an internet-only future.
