BBCS chief expects more streamer-broadcaster deals

BBC Studios chief exec Tom Fussell expects to see more collaboration between broadcasters and streamers in the vein of ITVX’s recent pact with Disney in the UK and TF1’s deal with Netflix in France.

BBCS posted record revenues on Tuesday, driven largely by its surging media and streaming group, and speaking to Broadcast International following the results, Fussell said such collaborations would be increasingly prevalent as companies look to bolster their ad-supported services.

ITVX and Disney’s pact, revealed last week, will see shows such as The Bear and Spy Among Friends appearing on each other’s services via branded portals, while TF1’s agreement will enable Netflix subscribers in France to access the entirety of its on demand service, as well as live channels.

Public broadcaster France Télévisions also agreed a deal last month that will see its shows and live channels become available via Amazon’s Prime Video.

“In the UK, you can certainly see how people are collaborating and partnering more and more. I think the public service media organisations are looking at how they can all collaborate in various ways - there are a lot of people talking about that.”

Fussell said partnerships are also top of mind in the US, adding that “‘collaboration’ is the buzzword now on the West Coast.”

He continued: “Everyone is looking at different windowing strategies and you can see that in the UK with the recent announcement of ITV and Disney.”

There is, he added, an increasingly open approach to rights, with companies exploring “how they window content and collaborate in doing that when there is less crossover [in audience],” as increasing ad revenues takes centre stage.

“Change is going to be a constant, and things are going to be very fluid in that market. I think there will be a lot more collaborations, there will be a lot more M&A globally and corporate changes with companies spinning off their linear assets.”

US streaming focus

While BBCS’s production and distribution operations struggled for growth in what the organisation termed as “structural changes” to the market – namely streamers pulling back on content spending – Fussell said he is now keenly focused on building on direct-to-consumer success as he attempts to hit its £3.2bn revenue target by 2027/28.

Fussell was bullish about the future, pointing to BritBox International reporting a 20% year-on-year revenue rise and the growth of its consumer products unit, particularly around kids brand Bluey.

“The strategy, as I see it, is working. We made a lot of strategic investments into new IP, into distributing people’s shows, into creating new IP and into our streaming services like U, BritBox and BBC.com.

“Those are beginning to pay off. You can see them paying off with the increase in the revenues and we’re carrying on making those investments.”

Fussell underlined the “challenging market” in which BBCS is operating, but said the organisation’s diversified revenue streams made the business resilient.

He also underlined the growth of BritBox and its ability “to fund UK shows which would have been really very hard to fund otherwise,” such as Outrageous.

Fussell added that further investments are being made – although details were not forthcoming – but the chief exec admitted that he is looking to build on BritBox’s success by bulking up fellow streamer BBC Select’s offering.

“BritBox plays that unique role [of offering best of British series] and one of the things we’re looking at now is… taking the BBC’s best podcasts and documentaries under BBC Select and offering that in one bundle. That is one quite compelling thing to do within streaming.”

Genre focus and M&A

BBCS will continue to explore production company acquisitions, he added, although he admitted there are fewer opportunities in the UK at present.

The company recently took full ownership of Kelly Webb-Lamb’s Mothership TV, as revealed by Broadcast, and added to its international operations last year with deals for Spain’s Brutal Media and Australia’s Werner Films.

BBCS has also restructured its factual and entertainment production units and launched a new format-focused arms, but Fussell said there was no particular focus on unscripted. He added that deals for IP are of interest, while streaming investments – including into UKTV’s streamer U – would continue.

“We’re looking at many businesses and they may be production businesses, or they may own IP. They may be British, or they may be global. But we are also looking at a lot of organic investment, and that means investment into BritBox, investment into BBC Select.

“You know, if U has had 56 million more viewer hours on its new platform with the rebrand there, and you can see they’ve got Bookish with Mark Gatiss coming up in the next month getting great reviews, then that is a business we want to carry on investing in.

“There’ll be a lot of organic investment and we’re always on the lookout for inorganic and M&A. There may not be so many established production companies on the market at the moment but there are always lots of opportunity around the world.”