BBC Store could replace Global iPlayer
December 3, 2014
Marcus Arthur, president, UK and ANZ, BBC Worldwide Store, admitted to the Digital TV Summit in London that the trial Global iPlayer was gaining “limited traction” and would probably be replaced by a global version of the BBC Store.
He said the BBC was yet to decide between a subscription or transaction model for the Store, “when we go overseas we have a choice”. The BBC Store was just another step on the roadmap to digital innovation and they were concentrating on getting right in the UK before rolling it out, he added.
BBC Store is set to be launched in the UK next year, and will sit inside and alongside BBC iPlayer. Arthur said BBC Store would be integrated with iPlayer over time.
BBC Worldwide chief Tim Davie in October 2013 revealed his vision for the corporation’s commercial arm, including a major rethink of its digital strategy. Davie said plans for a global iPlayer app had been scrapped andunveiled plans to roll out its digital store into BBC.com. Davie explained that BBC Worldwide had too many different websites and digital propositions, and there needed to be more focus to compete against rivals such as Hulu, Netflix and Amazon.