Viacom “very supportive” of Britbox
March 27, 2019
Colin Mann @ Connected TV World Summit
Dan Fahy, VP Commercial and Content Distribution, Viacom International Media Networks, has admitted the broadcaster is interested in participating in the BritBox SVoD initiative announced by the BBC and ITV at the end of February 2019.
Taking part in a panel discussion at the Connected TV World Summit 2019 in London which explored the dynamics that will shape the TV ecosystem for a generation, Fahy suggested the broadcaster’s UK commercial public service station Channel 5 produced a good amount of the type of content the service was likely to offer.
Admitting that linear was still “very healthy” for Viacom around certain types of programme, Fahy said that it was “very supportive” of the BritBox concept. “We’re talking to ITV about it. I know there are different views about the need for it, but fundamentally, in the UK there’s a huge appetite for British programming … and Channel 5 produces a lot of this great programming.”
He said that being able to present BBC and ITV programming (and other services) together took a lot of the friction out of the user experience. “There is a segment for some of the great British programming to come together in a frictionless, on-demand environment,” he concluded.