BBC Store set for November launch
October 29, 2015
By Colin Mann
Marcus Arthur, the BBC executive in charge of BBC Store, has confirmed that the download-to-own (DTO) service will launch in November.
Speaking at the PEVE Entertainment Business Futures 2015 Conference in London, Arthur, Director BBC Store as well as President, BBC Worldwide UK and ANZ, was unwilling to divulge an exact date in advance of a Press Launch during week commencing November 2.
According to Arthur, content available in the Store will range from the 1950s to the modern day. In a variation on the BBC’s tagline for its iPlayer catch-up VoD service – Making the Unmissable Unmissable – BCC Store’s DTO offering is ‘Making the Unmissable Yours’.
“It’s about making the [BBC] archive available,” he explained, noting that just 7 per cent of the BBC’s output had ever benefited from a subsequent commercial release window. “It fits in with the BBC’s Public Service remit,” he suggested.
“It’s an extension of the routes to market we already have,” he said. “It’s an opportunity to do something in a VoD world,” he said, confirming that content would still continue to be available via other sources such as iTunes. “Expect to see something in November,” he advised delegates.
A primary route to market would be via the BBC iPlayer, with users searching for content being provided with links to purchase content available in the Store. Pricing would be revealed in advance of the consumer launch, with Arthur suggesting it would reflect market rates for comparable content.