I know. That's what I thought too.
As if Channel 7’s catch-up service Plus7 wasn’t offering enough content, Yahoo!7 yesterday announced a deal with BBC Worldwide Australia to licence more than 20 additional titles for use locally. This ongoing deal will allow for future quality BBC content air on the service, either in catch-up following transmission on the Seven Network, or as part of PLUS7’s dedicated library of TV shows.
The way we are consuming (or being forced to consume) our television is changing rapidly: Catch-up; FetchTV; Foxtel on Xbox; Online TV sites like Hulu; legal & illegal download. It’s sure to stetch in all sorts of different ways additionally as more and more tablet/iPad style devices hit the market, all perfectly sized to consume television & movies. It’s gotta be time to make sure you’ve got a bigger download allowance pronto. The press release states:
The initial deal features much-loved family dramas Doctor Who, Torchwood and contemporary comedy favourites such as the Catherine Tate Show and Little Britain. Classic comedy programs Fawlty Towers and The Young Ones also feature, alongside hard-hitting factual programs such as Louis Theroux: The City Addicted to Crystal Meth, Fat Family Diet, and the epic BBC science series Walking with Dinosaurs.
“We are passionate about reaching new audiences with our diverse programming through digital platforms and look forward to sharing these enduring television favourites with PLUS7 viewers,” said Louisa Bayles, Digital Sales Manager, BBC Worldwide Australia.
Kath Hamilton, Director of Audience, Yahoo!7 said, “We know our audience loves being able to catch-up on their favourite TV shows. Yahoo!7’s PLUS7 service has seen more than 12.7 million full episode streams since it launched earlier this year and we are proud to be the number one TV website in Australia.”
“The deal with BBC Worldwide Australia means that we can deliver even more quality content. I’m confident that shows like Doctor Who and comedy favourites like Fawlty Towers and Catherine Tate Show will have our audience engaged. New and old fans alike will now be able to experience the best of the BBC on Yahoo!7,” she said.
It’s an interesting and confusing move, considering the recent annoucement from the BBC about them pushing their iPlayer service globally (most likely for a fee). If it is pay-per-view, then the Plus7 offering will prove to be an excellent source of UK content; however if it is free/ad-based, you’d question the validity of this deal. Draw your own conclusions. Addmittedly PLUS7 offers the consumer features such as a ‘My Shows’ section that stores favourite shows, email reminders when new episodes become available and options to share content via email and Facebook. That will help, although the BBC iPlayer service is pretty comprehensive too.
Image sources: BBC Worldwide.
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