BBC look to open iPlayer to other broadcasters.

[Tony Scanlon]

"BBC Look to Open UK iPlayer TV Streaming Platform to More Broadcasters

A few days ago, the BBC published their 118-page response to the UK Government’s Green Paper on its future. But while much of the coverage around that was on issues of funding and TV licence fees, buried deep within its pages the corporation also set out a new vision for their iPlayer streaming service, which could open it up to other Public Service Broadcasters (PSB).

Just to recap. The Government is currently reevaluating the BBC, its content and licence fees, which stems from the fact that there has been a radical shift in how the majority of us access and view TV content over the past decade or so. A change that is steadily redefining the landscape, often faster than the industry can adapt.

NOTE: At present 90% of UK premises can already access a gigabit-capable network (here) and Ofcom forecasts that this could reach up to 97% by January 2028 (here). The government’s Project Gigabit aims for this to reach c.99% by 2032 (here).

Such TV content is now increasingly being viewed online using broadband connections, via services like iPlayer, Netflix, Amazon (Prime Video), NOW TV, Sky Stream, Virgin Media (Stream Box), YouTube and so forth. Due to this, there has been a decline in those using traditional Digital Terrestrial TV (DTT) signals and content.

Nevertheless, the Government has so far committed to the future of DTT until 2034, which is in keeping with how some broadcasters have warned that existing DTT infrastructure is “unlikely to be commercially attractive after the mid-2030s“ (here); this is because they can’t afford to distribute their content both online and via traditional infrastructures like DTT with costs rising (i.e. the less time people spend on DTT, the less cost-effective per viewer it is).

Suffice to say, at some point in the future we may all end up getting our TV and video content via broadband connections, which has its pros and cons (here and here). But the government is still in the process of deciding upon what this will mean for the future of the BBC, its funding, licence fees and other PSBs.

The new ‘A BBC for All‘ (PDF) document sets out the BBC’s position on all this and more. But for the purpose of this article, some of the most interesting parts can be found buried down around page p48 onwards, where the corporation discusses how its popular iPlayer streaming service might need to evolve in order to adapt to the new landscape.

The key bit is where the BBC proposes that iPlayer could be “opened to other PSBs (and their commercial services), with support for their business models (i.e. advertising or subscription), whilst keeping BBC public service content advertising-free“. So, in theory, the likes of Channel 4 and ITV could find more of their content being placed on iPlayer (it’s unclear how reciprocal this could be). But they won’t stop there.

Extract from ‘A BBC for All’

It is increasingly clear that in the new world of global streaming, only a few destinations will be successful in retaining audience scale, and that there is a real danger that none of those destinations are UK-owned. Content creation is becoming increasingly democratised. At the same time, the race for scale has resulted in inflation in the cost of professionally produced content. Content distribution continues to shift to online, where UK PSBs compete directly with global technology-led, media companies; where algorithm and product strength are key success factors, rather than human-led creativity and curation.

In the BBC, we have built one of the few scaled, domestically-owned media platforms in a global landscape dominated by major technology companies. It is trusted and universally accessible. It is essential that we safeguard this critical piece of UK digital infrastructure by enabling it to leverage its scale and position to continue to support a healthy media ecology in the UK. This will help ensure that UK content and journalism remain visible and easily discoverable at scale.

We are proposing that iPlayer could be opened to other PSBs (and their commercial services), with support for their business models (i.e. advertising or subscription), whilst keeping BBC public service content advertising-free. This could help ensure the UK retains a streaming platform that competes with global services and remains a first choice for audiences. We will also explore opening up BBC Sounds to UK third parties and creators. We will do this while making sure it is clear what content audiences get from the BBC and from elsewhere, including the funding models used to support the production of that content. We will also need the right Charter conditions, such as increased regulatory flexibility, to fulfil these ambitions.

We also want to open up the underlying technology and engineering capabilities that power BBC services, creating a genuinely collaborative backbone for the UK’s media sector. By sharing core systems, tools and resources with other PSBs and trusted partners, we can reduce duplicated effort, lower costs across the industry and strengthen the overall competitiveness of UK media against global streaming giants. This is about building a shared digital foundation that helps all of us innovate faster and operate more efficiently. It ensures that British stories, journalism and educational content remain visible and discoverable at scale, and that the economic value created stays in the UK – with data, distribution power and audience relationships retained domestically.

The BBC also goes on to talk about how much of its own UKTV content archive is available on other services through commercial arrangements. In particular, the corporation suggests pulling this back somewhat and integrating into the BBC’s iPlayer service. This of course increasingly goes beyond iPlayer’s primary function as a service for limited catch-up style TV content viewing and sounds more akin to something like BritBox.

Extract from ‘A BBC for All’

As for archive, it is important to note that, through the wholly-owned UKTV portfolio, BBC Commercial already operates an advertising-supported service in the UK, which is a key commercial route to market for BBC archive content. This is a successful line of business for BBC Commercial, though it could be more effective if UKTV was integrated into the BBC’s iPlayer service (though still clearly distinguished from BBC-branded content and services). This would make it easier and more convenient for audiences to access UKTV content, with a higher revenue upside, and with brand separation as a way to mitigate the risk of audience confusion. We will explore this idea further with DCMS in the coming months.

The BBC also touches on the proposed idea of the BBC publishing licence fee funded content on third-party platforms such as YouTube, and monetising the viewing through adverts. This is in addition to the commercial activity already conducted by BBC Commercial on the platform – something that was recently extended a few months ago via a new partnership with YouTube.

However, while the corporation says they do see a “significant opportunity to serve audiences and deliver public value” through such an approach, they also warned that they “do not envisage a major commercial upside due to the limited revenues on offer from video sharing platforms“.

Even if they were to distribute a greater proportion of their catalogue this way, the BBC says “YouTube’s economics are challenging for broadcasters to make a positive return on premium content – advertising pricing is significantly lower than linear and Broadcaster-Video-On-Demand (BVOD), fewer adverts are served, and the platform takes a large share of the revenue“.

Suffice to say that iPlayer could become a very different service in the future, although clearly not everything proposed by the Government, as a solution for the wider challenges, will have legs. The BBC’s current Royal Charter comes to an end on 31st December 2027, so decisions will need to be made soon. The Government’s related consultation closes on 10th March 2026.

However, it’s worth noting that past attempts to do some of the things being proposed above (e.g. BritBox and Project Kangaroo [SeeSaw]) weren’t terribly successful, but then today’s market has changed a lot."