BT joins British Association for Screen Entertainment
April 24, 2018
By Colin Mann
The British Association for Screen Entertainment (BASE) – the trade body which represents the interests of publishers and rights-owners of pre-recorded filmed entertainment – has confirmed that multiplay telco and broadcaster BT has joined its ranks as a member with immediate effect. BT joins an array of other digital platforms in helping to shape and enhance the category.
BASE exists to champion the growth of screen entertainment across disc and digital providing its members with access to behavioural insights, consumer education programmes and a host of learning and networking experiences.
The digital entertainment market has experienced consistent growth in the last five years, up 16 per cent in 2017 and getting off to a strong start in Q1 2018, driven by releases such as Kingsman – The Golden Circle, Justice League and Paddington 2 topping the digital charts for the year to date.
“We recognise the increasing importance of EST and TVoD in the screen entertainment category, and so by now being a BASE member there is a greater opportunity for us to be a part of the conversation and share in the overarching aspiration of improving the consumer’s experience,” commented Natalie Gordon-Sy, Head of BT TV Store. “We are looking forward to both actively feeding into and benefiting from the array of invaluable insights, educational initiatives and marketing and communications projects that the Association has been so proactive in driving over the past few years.”
“BT is a welcome addition to the BASE Membership, an important support to our focus on the growth of digital, and our drive to fully understand audience behaviours,” declared Robert Price, Chairman of BASE and Managing Director, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment UK. “It is great to see that BT recognises the importance of these two areas, and by working hand-in-hand with ERA and its extensive retail membership, we all look forward to seeing incremental growth across the category.”
“This membership shows that BASE is relevant across the category and it is testament to the ongoing collaborative approach that we are focused on in order to drive consumer engagement with the sector. We look forward to seeing what the future brings as more partnerships and memberships come to the table.”