{"id":20790,"date":"2022-08-24T15:24:59","date_gmt":"2022-08-24T13:24:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=1697864"},"modified":"2022-08-24T15:24:59","modified_gmt":"2022-08-24T13:24:59","slug":"bbc-chairman-says-netflixs-platform-is-5-to-10-per-cent-better-than-iplayer","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/bbc-chairman-says-netflixs-platform-is-5-to-10-per-cent-better-than-iplayer\/","title":{"rendered":"BBC Chairman says Netflix\u2019s platform is \u201c5 to 10 per cent better\u201d than iPlayer"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Morgan Jeffery\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Wednesday, 24 August 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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BBC Chairman Richard Sharp has suggested that Netflix<\/a>\u2018s platform is currently \u201cbetter\u201d than the broadcaster\u2019s own iPlayer.<\/p>\n

Speaking at the Edinburgh International TV Festival 2022, Sharp pointed to the gap between what Netflix and the BBC spend on developing their tech product, arguing that this accounts for the difference in user experience.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have one-tenth of the budget in technology virtually [compared] with Netflix\u2026 and I\u2019d say their product is 5 to 10 per cent better,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s smoother when you use it and all the rest of it, but the fact is it\u2019s extraordinary how much they spend versus how little we spend.\u201d<\/p>\n

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BBC iPlayer<\/span><\/figcaption> BBC<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

Despite this, Sharp said that he still considers BBC iPlayer to be \u201cworld-class\u201d and \u201chighly competitive\u201d when compared to streaming rivals like Netflix and Prime Video<\/a>.<\/p>\n

He also revealed that the BBC is actively investigating the possibility of making a version of iPlayer accessible outside of the UK, allowing a global audience to view the broadcaster\u2019s programming.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you look at the growth of the AVOD [advertising-based video on demand] market in the US, there\u2019s no doubt that we can super-serve a community that wants British content,\u201d Sharp said. \u201cHow we go about that, we need to figure out.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been quite surprised at the success of BritBox International, in terms of being a profitable business. When you look at a global, digital consumer market, you realise that a large niche can be highly profitable and we\u2019re very good at a lot of things. So part of the strategic review [at the BBC] will be to figure out how we can capture a market demand for the content that we produce, globally.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the same Q&A session, hosted by actor and broadcaster David Harewood, Sharp confirmed that the BBC is also \u201creviewing all alternatives\u201d to the licence fee<\/a>.<\/p>

Read more coverage from the Edinburgh International TV Festival 2022:<\/strong><\/p>\n