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Speaker 1: Welcome to Strictly Business, brity's weekly podcast featuring conversations about

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Speaker 1: the business of media and entertainment. I'm senior business writer,

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Speaker 1: TV and Video games Jennifer Moss packed the library of

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Speaker 1: gripping dramas and quirky comedies. BritBox has carved out a

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Speaker 1: unique space in the streaming world as the destination for

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Speaker 1: British television outside of the UK. Recently promoted to BBC

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Speaker 1: Studios Direct to Consumers. CEO Robert Schildehouse has spent the

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Speaker 1: past few years building up the platform's original programming, including

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Speaker 1: recent releases Riot Women and Linley and the upcoming Priding

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Speaker 1: Prejudice inspired drama The Other Bennett's Sister, as well as

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Speaker 1: overseeing a targeted marketing strategy that's up subscriber numbers for

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Speaker 1: the one niche genre streamer that has now cornered the

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Speaker 1: Anglo file market in the US. Robert, thank you, thank

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Speaker 1: you so much for joining me today. I appreciate it,

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Speaker 1: my pleasure.

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Speaker 2: Thanks for having me.

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Speaker 1: I'd like to start off with the way we kind

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Speaker 1: of speak with everyone in these which is really just

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Speaker 1: going over your background first, where you came from, how

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Speaker 1: you started, and how you got to where you are now.

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Speaker 2: I started in a very non media career in finance,

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Speaker 2: but recognized rather quickly that something was changing in the industry.

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Speaker 2: I happened to be in graduate school when YouTube launched,

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Speaker 2: and say that was the one good idea I ever

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Speaker 2: had in my career, was that something was going to

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Speaker 2: change in the way content was being distributed to consumers,

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Speaker 2: and broadband was becoming ubiquitous to the home, high quality

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Speaker 2: video was being distributed over the Internet, and I just

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Speaker 2: knew that the world that we lived in, where other

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Speaker 2: people were making programming decisions on where and how you

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Speaker 2: watched content, was on the precipice of changing. And so

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Speaker 2: I moved to Los Angeles just on a whim. I

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Speaker 2: probably spent days of my life there at that point,

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Speaker 2: but realized that was probably the place where things were

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Speaker 2: going to happen. As the Hulu story started to emerge

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Speaker 2: in two thousand and seven about Hollywood coming together to

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Speaker 2: coalesce around a common streaming platform to really to combat piracy,

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Speaker 2: which I think now, obviously the streaming is how most

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Speaker 2: of us are consuming content all the time. But back then,

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Speaker 2: looking at what had happened in music industry, powers that

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Speaker 2: be in Hollywood were legitimately concerned about this looming existential

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Speaker 2: threat of what happens, whether it's existing platforms where they

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Speaker 2: don't have control or piracy and just generally speaking, become

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Speaker 2: the principal means for content distribution, they lose that control.

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Speaker 2: So that's really how Hulu was born. And honestly, I

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Speaker 2: just bluffed my way in. I reached out to somebody

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Speaker 2: with the title recruiter at Hulu on LinkedIn, which at

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Speaker 2: that time was still a very small website. I wasn't

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Speaker 2: allowed of noise, and they got back to me. I

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Speaker 2: came in and they asked me where I fit best,

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Speaker 2: and I asked where they needed the most help, and

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Speaker 2: they said content, and I said I can do that.

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Speaker 2: And I think just the good news at the time

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Speaker 2: was nobody really knew what they were doing, and so

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Speaker 2: I was the beneficiary of just being part of an

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Speaker 2: industry that was really getting off its feet at the time.

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Speaker 2: And I had an amazing experience there, who was the

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Speaker 2: most definitive time in my career up until the most

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Speaker 2: recent chapter here at BBC and brick Box. But it

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Speaker 2: really gave me an opportunity to be a part of

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Speaker 2: something in its ncency and watch it grow, and leading

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Speaker 2: our content acquisition efforts and really thinking about programming and

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Speaker 2: strategy for how we were going to present ourselves to audiences,

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Speaker 2: and watching the industry develop. And remember this is a

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Speaker 2: time when we're talking in two thousand and eight when

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Speaker 2: Netflix was still principally known for delivering DVDs and red envelopes,

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Speaker 2: and Amazon was kind of dipping its toe in time

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Speaker 2: at the time in streaming. But Hulu was really the

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Speaker 2: first pure play streaming platform in the marketplace, and we

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Speaker 2: had an incredible I had an incredible experience there that

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Speaker 2: really set off the rest of my career. And from

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Speaker 2: there I spent a long time at CBS and just

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Speaker 2: around I left the company in the wake of the

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Speaker 2: merger with Viacom that ultimately created Paramount, And I've lived

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Speaker 2: in Los Angeles that whole time, and then moved to

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Speaker 2: New York and I got a phone call out of

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Speaker 2: a vloo really about an opportunity at this British streaming

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Speaker 2: service called brick Box. And I would tell the story

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Speaker 2: because I think it's accurate, but it also sort of

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Speaker 2: gives purpose to a lot of what I do and

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Speaker 2: a lot of what I did at who and what

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Speaker 2: I'm most proud of really is recognizing that brilliant content

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Speaker 2: gets produced all over the globe. Now that's as a professional,

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Speaker 2: but also as a consumer and as an American. I

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Speaker 2: talked about this a lot that we never really were

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Speaker 2: exposed to British television or television from anywhere on American

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Speaker 2: airwaves growing up, because that was really just dominated by

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Speaker 2: what was coming out of the Hollywood system. And what

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Speaker 2: I recognized as we had a mission to grow to

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Speaker 2: bring the world's premium content online was that great content

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Speaker 2: was being produced all over the world, whether it's in

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Speaker 2: Japan or Korea, or the Nordics, or Israel or Latin

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Speaker 2: American certainly the UK. And so when I got this call,

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Speaker 2: I was intrigued by the idea of connecting audiences with

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Speaker 2: the content that they love where there's friction between I've

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Speaker 2: been really building that bridge and I'd done that before.

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Speaker 2: And interestingly, my mother was visiting me at the time,

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Speaker 2: and she asked me what I was doing professionally or

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Speaker 2: with my life. I just moved to New York and

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Speaker 2: was exploring a few options, and I mentioned to her

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Speaker 2: that I just started kicking off a conversation with this

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Speaker 2: content with this streaming service, that's the joint venture between

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Speaker 2: two major media companies in the UK. And she looked

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Speaker 2: at me and said, doing brick Box. And I looked

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Speaker 2: at hid, what do you know about brit Fox And

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Speaker 2: she said, that's all I watch. And that really kicked

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Speaker 2: off my understanding of the value that BritBox brings to

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Speaker 2: its audience and how much they love the service, and

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Speaker 2: how much it's beyond utility. It's really a relationship that

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Speaker 2: BritBox has built with its audience. And I think that

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Speaker 2: was really the moment where the light bulb went off

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Speaker 2: of my head that said, this is that there's a

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Speaker 2: real opportunity here to grow this thing. You know, I

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Speaker 2: was fortunate enough to start the company started the company

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Speaker 2: shortly afterwards. It was a joint venture at the time

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Speaker 2: between the BBC and ITV, and just that set off

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Speaker 2: the last three and a half years or so really

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Speaker 2: just an experience I could not have predicted or scripted

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Speaker 2: into British television. And really, I say this and I

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Speaker 2: mean it, that I have the best job in the business.

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Speaker 2: And I'm not just talking about the British television industry.

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Speaker 2: I think the entertainment industry and think anyone listening to

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Speaker 2: your podcast or reads who reads the news and deeply

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Speaker 2: understands what's going on in this industry right now, it's

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Speaker 2: under you know, an enormous amount of stress. I don't

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Speaker 2: have to get into what everyone else is dealing with,

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Speaker 2: but I think from the vantage point of where I sit,

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Speaker 2: which is getting to experience how to connect with consumers

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Speaker 2: in a very deep way and build something that really

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Speaker 2: means something to audiences and do that within the environment

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Speaker 2: of a global, major media company is just it's thrilling

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Speaker 2: for me. And I've had the opportunity to just build

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Speaker 2: a world class organization and hire some really incredible people

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Speaker 2: that have worked in major media companies like I have,

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Speaker 2: and we're all just super invested in building a service

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Speaker 2: that has a sustainable, long term business model and really

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Speaker 2: continues to delight to audiences. And we all come into

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Speaker 2: work every day motivated to do that.

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Speaker 3: I'm sure I'm not unique in this at all.

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Speaker 1: But you were mentioning, you know, people, how you get

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Speaker 1: introduced to British television and it being a little more difficult.

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Speaker 1: Earlier I was down to Dabby on PBS and watching

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Speaker 1: my Dad's money Python Flying Circus DVDs and that was

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Speaker 1: about it. So I wanted to ask you, you know,

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Speaker 1: how you think that these pockets of large fandoms like

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Speaker 1: you're speaking about your mother, my mother in law as well,

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Speaker 1: find these things when there wasn't as much of a

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Speaker 1: market for it. And now how BritBox makes it accessible

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Speaker 1: as well, So like how people were going about finding

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Speaker 1: British content previously and what Britbeck says to make that

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Speaker 1: more seamless, right, I think.

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Speaker 2: Historically you're right, that's what I was speaking to. It

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Speaker 2: just wasn't a great through to market. I think PBS

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Speaker 2: Masterpiece was probably the principal way that people discovered British television,

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Speaker 2: and that was a very thin sliver of what the

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Speaker 2: scope of a British television means. It was it's principally

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Speaker 2: costume drama like Dowt Nabbey for example, and Doubt Nabby

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Speaker 2: had also the benefit of really taking advantage of the

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Speaker 2: streaming ecosystem emerging at the right time for it to

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Speaker 2: reach brought audiences that wouldn't necessarily be tuning into PBS

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Speaker 2: or looking at you know, going through your parents' DVDs.

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Speaker 2: Like you mentioned, there really wasn't another way into American

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Speaker 2: living rooms and what streaming has done, not just with BritBox,

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Speaker 2: but I think every platform, and I mentioned it's a

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Speaker 2: lot of what I was working on when I was

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Speaker 2: at Hulu very early on had to do with connecting

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Speaker 2: audiences with content that they loved and building that bridge.

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Speaker 2: We have multiple challenges like every like every streaming service

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Speaker 2: does you and we have to earn our way into

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Speaker 2: the living room like every streaming service does. And then

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Speaker 2: we're the British one. And that has a benefit if

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Speaker 2: you if you're an angle file or you're an expat,

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Speaker 2: or you self identify someone who loves British television, that's great.

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Speaker 2: But if you don't, then we're the British one and

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Speaker 2: maybe that isn't the thing that you're into. And so

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Speaker 2: a lot of our job is to create the on

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Speaker 2: ramps in the marketplace to give people a reason to

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Speaker 2: give us a try. And once they discover that we

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Speaker 2: have amazing television shows from and distinctive television shows from

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Speaker 2: what they might be able to see in the general

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Speaker 2: entertainment marketplace, and they have eight thousand hours from the

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Speaker 2: Canada British television. Once you walk into our service, they

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Speaker 2: tend to stay with us and stay with us for

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Speaker 2: a long time.

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Speaker 1: Let's talk about the eight thousand hours because one thing,

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Speaker 1: I have a lot of friends who always feel like,

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Speaker 1: I know what you should be watching on television because

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Speaker 1: of my job, tell or where can I watch more

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Speaker 1: of this?

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Speaker 3: Or where can I get this kind of thing?

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Speaker 1: And I'm like, I don't know that came out, and

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Speaker 1: you want to watch something similar to that, You're going

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Speaker 1: to have to like google what is similar?

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Speaker 3: And you all have eight thousand hours of content.

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Speaker 1: So when it's something like well Netflix had this show

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Speaker 1: and it was great, but they don't have another comparable

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Speaker 1: thing for me to go watch next, how do you

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Speaker 1: all work on that? And looking at that market and

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Speaker 1: that availab watch that you have endless amounts If you

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Speaker 1: liked this, we have this.

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Speaker 2: Right well, That's a huge part of our audience acquisition

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Speaker 2: strategy is that when we use content to create those

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Speaker 2: on ramps, we think very deeply about Hey, what's the

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Speaker 2: next six months and what somebody is going to watch

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Speaker 2: and how do we bring somebody in not just for

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Speaker 2: a show, but to enjoy the entire portfolio that we have.

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Speaker 2: So I mentioned British television isn't a genre. Spans all

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Speaker 2: sorts of genres. They make straight drama and comedy and

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Speaker 2: sci fi and thriller and true crime and all. There's

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Speaker 2: a gamut of what makes British television very similar in

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Speaker 2: many ways to what you get out of the Hollywood system.

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Speaker 2: But there are a few distinctive categories that where British

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Speaker 2: television stands out and is globally known to stand out.

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Speaker 2: And mystery and adjacent to mystery, just the broader crime

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Speaker 2: genre is something where British television is known and truly

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Speaker 2: is distinctive. Another area is period and you mentioned Dow

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Speaker 2: Nabby before. I think the beneficiary of the long relationship

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Speaker 2: that British television has had with PBA and PBS Masterpiece

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Speaker 2: in this market has meant there has been some for

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Speaker 2: the costume drama, the period piece into American audience to

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Speaker 2: American audiences. And so those are the areas that we

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Speaker 2: spend most of our time on BritBox specifically, and we

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Speaker 2: want to make sure that you don't have that issue

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Speaker 2: that you show up, you watch the one show that

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Speaker 2: somebody told you to watch and there's nothing there for you.

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Speaker 2: I call it the clear, well lit paths. The proposition like,

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Speaker 2: can we make sure that if we bring somebody in

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Speaker 2: for one thing, there are there is a very clear

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Speaker 2: path for them to enjoy the rest of what we

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Speaker 2: have in the service. And that's really been our strategy.

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Speaker 1: So what are you bringing people on for right now?

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Speaker 1: And what's coming up that you're excited about?

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Speaker 2: Sure? So our slate is something I'm super proud of

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Speaker 2: this year. You know, one of the areas that we

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Speaker 2: that we are incredibly proud of is the depth of

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Speaker 2: Agatha Christie programming, the Queen of Crime, probably the most

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Speaker 2: well known voice of mystery coming out of the UK,

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Speaker 2: and you've had we have had excellent success with content

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Speaker 2: from her from the library of back at the Career,

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Speaker 2: but also some adaptations recent adaptations, So we have Why

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Speaker 2: did dazk Evans Murder? Is Easy Towards Zero, which is

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Speaker 2: our most recent series with Matthew Resent Angelica Houston, and

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Speaker 2: then we have so this year we have Tommy and

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Speaker 2: Tuppen's coming out and Tommy and Tuppen is the first

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Speaker 2: modern adaptation of an Agatha Christie IP in English language.

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Speaker 2: There may have been some things elsewhere in the world,

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Speaker 2: but in English language it's the first and we're just

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Speaker 2: super excited about that, and we know that our audience

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Speaker 2: loves mystery and interestingly, that show we've commissioned out of

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Speaker 2: the US, so we can get into that if you like,

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Speaker 2: on how we think about programming and commissioning programming. But

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Speaker 2: just super excited about that show. We have the other

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Speaker 2: Bennett's Sister is a show that we're incredibly excited about

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Speaker 2: that takes place in the world of Pride and Prejudice.

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Speaker 3: I'm excited for it.

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Speaker 2: Well, so that takes place in the world of pride

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Speaker 2: and prejudice, it centers around Mary Bennett was sort of

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Speaker 2: the often overlooked Bennett's Sister and Pride and Prejudice very very,

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Speaker 2: very successful novel and a lot of our content originates

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Speaker 2: from books and book series and being part of that

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Speaker 2: universe I think will give us an opportunity to extend

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Speaker 2: that on round to lots of new audiences. So that's

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Speaker 2: a show that we're very excited about. And then look,

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Speaker 2: we've got great a huge slate of returning series, headlined

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Speaker 2: by the second season of Ludwig starring David Mitchell, that

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Speaker 2: we're very excited about. And so just a very rich

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Speaker 2: slate of new to BritBox and returning series that we

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Speaker 2: know will delight our audiences.

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Speaker 1: When you're looking at the top down view here and

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Speaker 1: how you want to approach programming and balance that with

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Speaker 1: the immense amount of library content there is how do

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Speaker 1: you see BritBox as a producer versus BritBox as a platform.

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Speaker 3: And you had mentioned commissioning in the US.

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Speaker 2: So BritBox really started by being an acquirer programming. So

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Speaker 2: this is before my time, but I mentioned there just

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Speaker 2: wasn't a lot of British television available elsewhere in the

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Speaker 2: US market. So the idea of aggregating that and putting

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Speaker 2: it in one place was the original idea. As we've

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Speaker 2: grown the business and evolved and moved beyond just being

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Speaker 2: a place for the library programming to delight you know,

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Speaker 2: somebody who would call themselves an angle file or an

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Speaker 2: expat into just becoming more of a of a service

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Speaker 2: that's accessible to all. We've moved upstream in the way

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Speaker 2: that we think about programmings. We are an extremely active

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Speaker 2: co commissioner and in some cases commissioner British Television and

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Speaker 2: we and I frankly are green lighting television shows that

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Speaker 2: millions of people are watching in the UK, and I

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Speaker 2: mentioned Tommy and Tuppens that's coming later this year. But

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Speaker 2: we had a series that came to us called Blimley

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Speaker 2: from Colin Calendar and Playground, which is a Colin is

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Speaker 2: an extremely well renowned producer, and we commissioned that and

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Speaker 2: I green Latch green lit that show in the US

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Speaker 2: and it made its way back to the UK via

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Speaker 2: the acquisition route at BBC, so there wasn't a UK

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Speaker 2: broadcaster involved in that commission and it turned out to

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Speaker 2: be one of the if not the biggest drama premiere

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Speaker 2: on the BBC in the last year. And so we're

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Speaker 2: taking a very proactive approach at knowing what our audience

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Speaker 2: looks for, what their tastes are and what they like

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Speaker 2: aggressively going after those shows, participating upstream. And this even

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Speaker 2: goes beyond commissioning. We develop projects, We listen to ideas

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Speaker 2: at the earliest stage and we're talking to every premium

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Speaker 2: producer in the UK and a lot of the projects

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Speaker 2: that are on our slate come from from rab or

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Speaker 2: agnostic about where they come from, and they come from

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Speaker 2: the best producers in the UK, whether it's Left Bank

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Speaker 2: Pictures who made The Crown. They're the producers of The Lady,

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Speaker 2: which is a new series that we have on the

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Speaker 2: service right now, and we talk about Tommy and Tuppens

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Speaker 2: that came from Lookout Point that's a BBC Studios owned label,

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Speaker 2: and that they made Happy Value, which is one of

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Speaker 2: the most well regarded series from Sally Wainwright UK that

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Speaker 2: many American audiences are familiar with. So we're working with

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Speaker 2: the best producers in the UK and if there's an

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Speaker 2: opportunity and if it makes sense for us to participate

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Speaker 2: upstream in the commissioning or co production phase of things,

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Speaker 2: when we do so.

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Speaker 1: It's very interesting Unlimley in particular, and would you say

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Speaker 1: it's kind of reverse engineering that you guys are able

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Speaker 1: to see what the North American audience who's interested in

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Speaker 1: British television would be interested in, and that then leads

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Speaker 1: to what the British audience would be interested in.

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Speaker 2: I think there are certain lanes where there's a great

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Speaker 2: overlapp and I think the mystery and again broader crime

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Speaker 2: genre is something that there's a pretty good signals if

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Speaker 2: it works in the UK for me, for that audience

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Speaker 2: in that genre, it's something that's going to find our

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Speaker 2: audience or delight arts as well. And this is a

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Speaker 2: specific show and we see lots of them, we just know.

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Speaker 2: And we've got again an amazing commissioning team that actually

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Speaker 2: sits in the UK, that's made up actually both Americans

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Speaker 2: and Brits, but it specifically sits in London that screens

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Speaker 2: all of our inbound and they have such an incredible

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Speaker 2: pulse on what our audience in the US is excited

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Speaker 2: about and would be excited about. And yeah, I lean

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Speaker 2: on them, and I think broadly our programming team leans

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Speaker 2: on them immensely. But we have a really good understanding

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Speaker 2: of what our audience likes and we've talked to them.

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Speaker 2: We spend a lot of time and you listen to them,

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Speaker 2: and I think the output of that are some million

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Speaker 2: incredible shows that we're very proud of.

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Speaker 1: Your recent promotion gives your official title BBC Studios Direct

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Speaker 1: to Consumer CEO, So i'd like to ask included in

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Speaker 1: that is BBC Select as well and any future DTOC

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Speaker 1: businesses in North America so well.

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Speaker 3: BritBox is a big focus of our conversation here.

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Speaker 1: I'd like to ask about BBC Select and plans for

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Speaker 1: future potential streaming ventures are what you're looking at, what

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Speaker 1: you're interested in.

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Speaker 2: Sure, So I mentioned BritBox started as a JV and

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Speaker 2: within the BBC, within BBC Studios, there there was another

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Speaker 2: distinctive lane of programming that was being pursued, which was

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Speaker 2: factual programming and that's something that again British documentaries have

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Speaker 2: a slightly different tone that than what you typically get

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Speaker 2: out of out of the US audience. And what the

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Speaker 2: BBC discovered, BBC Studios discovered was there was an opportunity

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Speaker 2: to lean into that lane. And so somewhat in parallel

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Speaker 2: to having this joint venture of ITV, they had launched

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Speaker 2: a streaming service just focus on factual opportunities and that's

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Speaker 2: BBC Select. And so once we were brought into the

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Speaker 2: fold through the acquisition of ITV share in brick Box,

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Speaker 2: we took a look at where can we leverage the

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Speaker 2: platform the infrastructure of brick Box to supercharge the growth

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Speaker 2: of other things within the broader portfolio and Select was

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Speaker 2: a very obvious first place to start. So we've integrated

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Speaker 2: that business in really without any hiccups, into BritBox and rebranded.

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Speaker 2: Really at a corporate level, we're calling it direct to consumer,

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Speaker 2: but we're not. We're still from a consumer facing perspective

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Speaker 2: brick Box and BBC Select, and but what we've been

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Speaker 2: able to do is really use the k abilities that

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Speaker 2: we've built at brick Box to accelerate the growth. It's

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Speaker 2: already very impressive and profitable service in Select. And then

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Speaker 2: you know, in terms of future plans, we're just you know,

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Speaker 2: we're open minded and assessing the market like everything else.

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Speaker 2: So there's a lot of chaos out there, and I

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Speaker 2: think that just leaves us us in a position where

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Speaker 2: there may be opportunities in the future to pursuit and

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Speaker 2: nothing to report today. But what we are doing is

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Speaker 2: building the infrastructure to be able to support multiple faces

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Speaker 2: to the consumer and also use them together. So we

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Speaker 2: can talk at some point about our premium service Brickbox Premiere,

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Speaker 2: but we're the content from BBC Select lives within the

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Speaker 2: premium tier for brick Box Premium service also, so we're

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Speaker 2: just constantly looking for ways to optimize our proposition to

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Speaker 2: consumers and leverage the infrastructure that we've built to supercharge

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Speaker 2: our businesses on.

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Speaker 1: The premier option. I'd love to know how that's looking

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Speaker 1: right now. What you've seen as the consumer response to

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Speaker 1: that since launching that tier.

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Speaker 2: Sure Brickbox Premiere. The origin story there is when you

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Speaker 2: look at how every service out there is thinking about

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Speaker 2: growing revenue per user are who usually I call it

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Speaker 2: bad news. If you get an email and you're in

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Speaker 2: box that says you're paying you're now paying more for

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Speaker 2: a service today than you were yesterday, and everyone's gotten

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Speaker 2: them any for every service and we've raised price al

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Speaker 2: So it's not a great feeling. But in order to

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Speaker 2: bring some of this incredible programming and continue to create

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Speaker 2: a service that people love, we need to continue to

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Speaker 2: invest and invest there. So the challenge that I really

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Speaker 2: gave the team was how can we increase our revenue

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Speaker 2: per user through good news? And are there ways that

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Speaker 2: we can bring our audience And we know how loyal

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Speaker 2: our audience is and they tell us how much they

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Speaker 2: love us. Can we bring them closer to the program

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Speaker 2: and can we give them more? And so we launched

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Speaker 2: the service called Britbock's Premiere over the summer in August,

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Speaker 2: and really it's principal value proposition is earlier access to programming.

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Speaker 2: I'm old fashioned. I love the week over week well

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Speaker 2: a lot of a show. I think the binge valuable

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Speaker 2: for some people and they really love it, but there's

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Speaker 2: something about having that week to week conversation and a

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Speaker 2: little bit of a pause to reflect and think about

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Speaker 2: what you're watching, talk to your community and think about

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Speaker 2: where things are going, and especially in the world that

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Speaker 2: we play in, which is a lot of mystery and

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Speaker 2: suspense and what's going to happen and who done it, etc.

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Speaker 2: But we recognize that some users would prefer to just

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Speaker 2: have everything right now. We part of the value, part

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Speaker 2: of the proposition of Premiere is the early access to programming,

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Speaker 2: and mentioned BBC select the inclusion of those documentaries and

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Speaker 2: factual programming into the service. And then there's some compelling

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Speaker 2: product features that we've been hearing for a long time.

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Speaker 2: Their users wanted, they wanted four K, they wanted more

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Speaker 2: concurrent streams, they wanted temporary downloads and mobile devices, and

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Speaker 2: so we built this product and we said we're going

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Speaker 2: to release it in a very quiet way as an

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Speaker 2: annual only option and see what happens and continue to

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Speaker 2: tinker and continue to make it better and really hope

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Speaker 2: to evolve them into something that feels more like a

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Speaker 2: membership tire than something that's just a transactional relationship with

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Speaker 2: a service provider, which is I think of how we

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Speaker 2: think about a lot of our relationships with streaming services,

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Speaker 2: and the results have been phenomenal. We're going to exceed

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Speaker 2: our first year plan on that by probably around over

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Speaker 2: fifty percent. And we've just been we talked to what

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Speaker 2: I keep saying, we talk to our users a lot.

438
00:22:27,960 --> 00:22:31,399
Speaker 2: The response to what has been extremely positive. People always

439
00:22:31,400 --> 00:22:32,920
Speaker 2: want a little bit more, they want to feel close,

440
00:22:32,960 --> 00:22:34,800
Speaker 2: and we've got some really great ideas about how we

441
00:22:34,840 --> 00:22:37,280
Speaker 2: can continue to improve the service. But this is really

442
00:22:37,280 --> 00:22:40,160
Speaker 2: a super fan service and we are in the fandom business,

443
00:22:40,200 --> 00:22:43,520
Speaker 2: so we want to make sure we're always a step

444
00:22:43,560 --> 00:22:45,720
Speaker 2: ahead and thinking about how to give our users more

445
00:22:45,760 --> 00:22:48,720
Speaker 2: and if it has the benefit of creating more value

446
00:22:48,760 --> 00:22:51,640
Speaker 2: for the business as well, that's really impactful and important

447
00:22:51,640 --> 00:22:51,960
Speaker 2: as well.

448
00:22:52,320 --> 00:22:55,720
Speaker 1: Speaking about the fandom, you've launched a podcast now as well,

449
00:22:55,760 --> 00:22:58,400
Speaker 1: to go along with programming like to Know What.

450
00:22:58,880 --> 00:23:00,399
Speaker 3: Led to that Everyone's Lunch podcast.

451
00:23:00,440 --> 00:23:03,000
Speaker 1: We're on a podcast right now, but particularly ones that

452
00:23:03,040 --> 00:23:05,159
Speaker 1: are about content tied to a show.

453
00:23:05,560 --> 00:23:08,080
Speaker 3: I think after episode recap kind of things.

454
00:23:08,560 --> 00:23:10,280
Speaker 1: What led you all to this and thinking this is

455
00:23:10,280 --> 00:23:12,560
Speaker 1: something fans would want And what have you seen as

456
00:23:12,600 --> 00:23:14,400
Speaker 1: that reaction to the podcast and listeners.

457
00:23:14,560 --> 00:23:17,000
Speaker 2: I mean, we've had a couple episodes out right now,

458
00:23:17,040 --> 00:23:20,840
Speaker 2: the response has been very strong. This just follows the

459
00:23:20,880 --> 00:23:23,320
Speaker 2: trend of how do we get closer to audiences and

460
00:23:23,359 --> 00:23:25,920
Speaker 2: how do we create these ongrams and give people accessible

461
00:23:25,920 --> 00:23:29,199
Speaker 2: ways to experience brick Box And for new fans and

462
00:23:29,200 --> 00:23:32,040
Speaker 2: then for existing fans, how do we create community and

463
00:23:32,240 --> 00:23:34,640
Speaker 2: allow that fandom to thrive elsewhere? And you know that's

464
00:23:34,720 --> 00:23:36,800
Speaker 2: it's also a great example of how we do things

465
00:23:36,880 --> 00:23:39,240
Speaker 2: at brick Box. And it was an idea came that

466
00:23:39,520 --> 00:23:42,600
Speaker 2: was organically came up in a training workshop actually that

467
00:23:42,640 --> 00:23:45,840
Speaker 2: we had and we found the resources and said, just

468
00:23:46,280 --> 00:23:49,119
Speaker 2: sounds like a great idea. We're a very small organization

469
00:23:49,240 --> 00:23:52,080
Speaker 2: and so we don't have a lot of bureaucracy. We

470
00:23:52,119 --> 00:23:55,520
Speaker 2: don't operate in a despite being in a big media

471
00:23:55,640 --> 00:23:57,840
Speaker 2: environment and being part of the BBC, we don't try

472
00:23:57,920 --> 00:24:01,480
Speaker 2: to act like that and we try to just move quickly.

473
00:24:01,480 --> 00:24:04,359
Speaker 2: And there was an opportunity to get some great talent

474
00:24:04,480 --> 00:24:07,840
Speaker 2: and talk about TV and leverage the fact that we

475
00:24:08,520 --> 00:24:11,639
Speaker 2: do have relationships with talent that wants to help promote

476
00:24:11,640 --> 00:24:13,480
Speaker 2: their shows and get in front of audiences and give

477
00:24:13,480 --> 00:24:15,439
Speaker 2: them a flavor a little bit of behind the scenes

478
00:24:15,440 --> 00:24:18,440
Speaker 2: of the world that they operate in, and you, we're

479
00:24:18,480 --> 00:24:20,640
Speaker 2: just super excited about. It's just another way we can

480
00:24:20,920 --> 00:24:22,200
Speaker 2: reach users where.

481
00:24:22,080 --> 00:24:25,000
Speaker 1: They are at this point, with how long BritBox has

482
00:24:25,080 --> 00:24:27,480
Speaker 1: been around, now, how have you seen the reaction from

483
00:24:27,600 --> 00:24:31,040
Speaker 1: talent and creatives that you're working with change or has

484
00:24:31,040 --> 00:24:31,760
Speaker 1: it stayed the same?

485
00:24:31,840 --> 00:24:32,119
Speaker 3: Roughly?

486
00:24:32,200 --> 00:24:34,000
Speaker 1: What do you see is a reaction to working with

487
00:24:34,040 --> 00:24:37,280
Speaker 1: BritBox versus working with Netflix or Amazon or all these

488
00:24:37,280 --> 00:24:39,359
Speaker 1: other people who want to get in and want to

489
00:24:39,400 --> 00:24:42,520
Speaker 1: be part of period dramas in particular, and that content

490
00:24:42,760 --> 00:24:45,320
Speaker 1: Netflix is doing bred and prejudice right now? What leads

491
00:24:45,359 --> 00:24:48,080
Speaker 1: to wanting to work with BritBox over someone like that.

492
00:24:49,119 --> 00:24:53,639
Speaker 2: So we take incredible care of our programming and our talent,

493
00:24:53,720 --> 00:24:55,520
Speaker 2: and I think if you were to talk to them,

494
00:24:55,840 --> 00:24:57,879
Speaker 2: we want all of our talent and they come and

495
00:24:57,960 --> 00:25:00,320
Speaker 2: visit us, to go back to the UK and talk

496
00:25:00,320 --> 00:25:03,439
Speaker 2: about the incredible experience that they have. It's a huge

497
00:25:03,440 --> 00:25:06,320
Speaker 2: amount of effort put in to make them feel like

498
00:25:06,600 --> 00:25:10,199
Speaker 2: they mean everything to us, which they do because we

499
00:25:10,280 --> 00:25:12,040
Speaker 2: only play in one lane. So I'm not going to

500
00:25:12,080 --> 00:25:14,680
Speaker 2: speak to what goes on in other streaming services because

501
00:25:14,680 --> 00:25:17,440
Speaker 2: I don't really know. But when you think about general

502
00:25:17,560 --> 00:25:21,600
Speaker 2: entertainment services, British content is a part of what they do.

503
00:25:21,920 --> 00:25:24,560
Speaker 2: For us, it's everything that we do. And so when

504
00:25:24,600 --> 00:25:28,200
Speaker 2: we have a big, impactful tent pole show that maybe

505
00:25:28,200 --> 00:25:31,320
Speaker 2: somewhere else would be one of many, many things that

506
00:25:31,760 --> 00:25:34,880
Speaker 2: are happening for us, it's the most important thing. Whether

507
00:25:34,920 --> 00:25:37,400
Speaker 2: it's they're getting to see their faces in a billboard

508
00:25:37,400 --> 00:25:39,639
Speaker 2: in Times Square, which all of our talent take that

509
00:25:39,680 --> 00:25:41,320
Speaker 2: moment and they take a picture and put it on

510
00:25:41,359 --> 00:25:43,840
Speaker 2: their socials and they get very excited about it, or

511
00:25:43,880 --> 00:25:47,080
Speaker 2: even just coming to New York and we do events

512
00:25:47,119 --> 00:25:50,240
Speaker 2: and we do screenings and some of them, believe it

513
00:25:50,320 --> 00:25:52,360
Speaker 2: or not, have never even been to New York City before.

514
00:25:52,440 --> 00:25:56,040
Speaker 2: And I think the relationship that we're developing back into

515
00:25:56,040 --> 00:26:01,080
Speaker 2: the British content ecosystem is a really competitive advantage for us.

516
00:26:01,160 --> 00:26:05,359
Speaker 2: We talk to every producer in that marketplace. Talent is

517
00:26:05,400 --> 00:26:08,200
Speaker 2: now coming to us and saying how can we work

518
00:26:08,200 --> 00:26:11,080
Speaker 2: with brick Box because they know that we get behind

519
00:26:11,119 --> 00:26:13,359
Speaker 2: our shows. We do everything we possibly can do to

520
00:26:13,400 --> 00:26:16,720
Speaker 2: get to get the word out there. And the value

521
00:26:16,800 --> 00:26:19,320
Speaker 2: of just being on a brick box show in the

522
00:26:19,400 --> 00:26:23,520
Speaker 2: UK marketplace, maybe once upon a time, and I'm speculating here,

523
00:26:23,920 --> 00:26:26,359
Speaker 2: we may have been thought of as a niche service.

524
00:26:26,400 --> 00:26:29,639
Speaker 2: You can understand why. But our aspiration is really to

525
00:26:29,680 --> 00:26:32,679
Speaker 2: be a main that specializes in distinctive programming from the

526
00:26:32,800 --> 00:26:38,320
Speaker 2: UK and as talent and producers recognize that we will

527
00:26:38,359 --> 00:26:41,240
Speaker 2: celebrate their content, we will get them talked about in

528
00:26:41,359 --> 00:26:45,880
Speaker 2: all the places where Prestige Television has talked about. They've

529
00:26:45,920 --> 00:26:47,800
Speaker 2: come to get very comfortable with us, and then we

530
00:26:47,840 --> 00:26:50,880
Speaker 2: make sure that when they are with us, both through

531
00:26:50,920 --> 00:26:53,400
Speaker 2: the production process as well as when we were out

532
00:26:53,440 --> 00:26:56,359
Speaker 2: there and yelling from the rooftops about the shows, they're

533
00:26:56,400 --> 00:26:59,040
Speaker 2: getting a first class experience with us. And so far,

534
00:26:59,200 --> 00:27:01,800
Speaker 2: I think that's penne that ends in the marketplace.

535
00:27:01,600 --> 00:27:04,400
Speaker 1: When you look at catering to your existing fan base

536
00:27:04,480 --> 00:27:06,640
Speaker 1: and keeping those people happy, and you know who those

537
00:27:06,680 --> 00:27:08,080
Speaker 1: people are and you want to be there for those

538
00:27:08,119 --> 00:27:11,040
Speaker 1: people versus also growth, how are you balancing that? Are

539
00:27:11,080 --> 00:27:13,879
Speaker 1: there different demographics you're looking at courting, are their younger

540
00:27:13,920 --> 00:27:15,120
Speaker 1: audiences you're looking at?

541
00:27:15,160 --> 00:27:17,760
Speaker 2: Sure, Well, look, we're in the same business as every

542
00:27:18,000 --> 00:27:20,639
Speaker 2: service in the sense that we think about acquisition and

543
00:27:20,680 --> 00:27:23,080
Speaker 2: we think about retention. Now it's amazing if we can

544
00:27:23,080 --> 00:27:25,800
Speaker 2: get a show that does both, that both brings new

545
00:27:25,800 --> 00:27:29,199
Speaker 2: audience in and entertains our existing audience. And we have

546
00:27:29,280 --> 00:27:31,879
Speaker 2: lots of shows that some shows are only going to

547
00:27:31,880 --> 00:27:34,720
Speaker 2: play to the acquisition. We may we may try to

548
00:27:34,800 --> 00:27:38,600
Speaker 2: operate a little bit outside of our existing audience base

549
00:27:39,040 --> 00:27:40,960
Speaker 2: so that we can lower that barrier to entry. I

550
00:27:41,040 --> 00:27:43,399
Speaker 2: call it an accessible on ramp, pick whatever turn of

551
00:27:43,480 --> 00:27:46,240
Speaker 2: phrase you want, but we want to for the person

552
00:27:46,240 --> 00:27:49,480
Speaker 2: who hasn't discovered yet that British television is for them.

553
00:27:49,680 --> 00:27:51,679
Speaker 2: We want to give them a reason to give us

554
00:27:51,680 --> 00:27:54,000
Speaker 2: a try. And we've done that through a marketing campaigns.

555
00:27:54,040 --> 00:27:58,400
Speaker 2: We launched a brand campaigns year that we called see

556
00:27:58,400 --> 00:28:01,160
Speaker 2: It Differently and it want to Clio. It was a

557
00:28:01,200 --> 00:28:04,560
Speaker 2: fourteen hour time lapse of someone who was playing the

558
00:28:04,640 --> 00:28:08,959
Speaker 2: role of a BritBox subscriber being converted into characters from

559
00:28:09,000 --> 00:28:12,320
Speaker 2: our different shows. And there's really I've actually never seen

560
00:28:12,359 --> 00:28:14,280
Speaker 2: anything like it before and when the team came to

561
00:28:14,320 --> 00:28:16,520
Speaker 2: me with that idea, I was like, yeah, let's do

562
00:28:16,600 --> 00:28:19,040
Speaker 2: something different. But what it challenged the team, what it

563
00:28:19,119 --> 00:28:21,879
Speaker 2: challenged audiences to do or potential audiences to do is

564
00:28:21,920 --> 00:28:25,480
Speaker 2: really to think of us differently, and you know, the

565
00:28:25,480 --> 00:28:27,840
Speaker 2: goal is to try to bring people in and give

566
00:28:28,240 --> 00:28:31,320
Speaker 2: and give us a try to our existing audience. The

567
00:28:31,400 --> 00:28:33,840
Speaker 2: job is to just keep feeding them the great programming

568
00:28:33,880 --> 00:28:38,120
Speaker 2: and bringing back our super brands and returning shows. And

569
00:28:38,280 --> 00:28:41,720
Speaker 2: we're heavily invested in that, whereas you know, on other

570
00:28:41,760 --> 00:28:44,800
Speaker 2: services you might expect to see a season or two

571
00:28:44,920 --> 00:28:49,719
Speaker 2: or three of very successful shows. We love the franchise.

572
00:28:49,840 --> 00:28:53,320
Speaker 2: We have Silent Witnesses in its twenty eighth season. We

573
00:28:53,440 --> 00:28:57,240
Speaker 2: have Death and Paradise and Shetland. These these series have

574
00:28:57,320 --> 00:29:01,640
Speaker 2: double digit seasons of television and audience has become accustomed

575
00:29:02,200 --> 00:29:05,080
Speaker 2: to coming back and key beats throughout the year. And

576
00:29:05,080 --> 00:29:07,960
Speaker 2: this is part of the value of Britboxes. It's not

577
00:29:08,120 --> 00:29:11,240
Speaker 2: just one show. It's you're here for the experience and

578
00:29:11,280 --> 00:29:13,440
Speaker 2: we're going to keep feeding you over the course of

579
00:29:13,480 --> 00:29:16,640
Speaker 2: a year incredible television shows. And the output of that

580
00:29:16,840 --> 00:29:20,880
Speaker 2: is that the majority of our subscribers on our direct

581
00:29:20,920 --> 00:29:24,520
Speaker 2: consumer platform are on annual plans. So what that tells

582
00:29:24,600 --> 00:29:27,720
Speaker 2: us and we keep leaning into that, and it's statistic

583
00:29:27,800 --> 00:29:30,760
Speaker 2: that I'm probably most proud of. It's our audience is

584
00:29:30,800 --> 00:29:33,800
Speaker 2: making a bet on BritBox for the entire year. They

585
00:29:33,920 --> 00:29:36,479
Speaker 2: know that we're going to keep delighting them, that we're

586
00:29:36,520 --> 00:29:39,320
Speaker 2: going to curate for them the best of British television.

587
00:29:39,360 --> 00:29:41,280
Speaker 2: They're not just show them up for one show. And

588
00:29:41,280 --> 00:29:43,920
Speaker 2: we're actually seeing that that number continue to increase and

589
00:29:44,040 --> 00:29:46,520
Speaker 2: Britbox's Premiere, which is only sold as an annual option,

590
00:29:46,640 --> 00:29:49,800
Speaker 2: that premium tier is helping that number as well. And

591
00:29:49,960 --> 00:29:52,160
Speaker 2: the job here is of course to keep the existing

592
00:29:52,160 --> 00:29:56,880
Speaker 2: audience base happy, we get the feedback that that's happening,

593
00:29:56,920 --> 00:29:59,640
Speaker 2: and then introducing BritBox to lots of new people who

594
00:29:59,760 --> 00:30:03,520
Speaker 2: are wise wouldn't necessarily know how great the content can

595
00:30:03,560 --> 00:30:05,080
Speaker 2: be on our British Content service.

596
00:30:05,520 --> 00:30:06,240
Speaker 3: Before we close.

597
00:30:06,280 --> 00:30:08,480
Speaker 1: I've looked to get your perspective on just in general,

598
00:30:08,520 --> 00:30:10,840
Speaker 1: looking at the industry, what people should be looking at

599
00:30:10,920 --> 00:30:13,239
Speaker 1: right now, What interesting trends that you're looking forward to

600
00:30:13,320 --> 00:30:16,000
Speaker 1: in twenty twenty s. Maybe just certain areas where you've

601
00:30:16,040 --> 00:30:18,680
Speaker 1: noticed growth or you're looking to growth that you want

602
00:30:18,720 --> 00:30:19,200
Speaker 1: to point out.

603
00:30:19,280 --> 00:30:22,080
Speaker 2: Well, it sounds a bit self serving. I think the

604
00:30:22,120 --> 00:30:25,920
Speaker 2: specialty service or the targeted services seems to be where

605
00:30:26,040 --> 00:30:29,520
Speaker 2: there's a lot of interest now we're talking because we

606
00:30:29,560 --> 00:30:31,600
Speaker 2: may not have had this conversation three years ago, and

607
00:30:31,680 --> 00:30:33,520
Speaker 2: we may not have been on your radar three years ago.

608
00:30:33,640 --> 00:30:39,200
Speaker 2: But as the broader services are getting broad, people are gravitating,

609
00:30:39,320 --> 00:30:43,760
Speaker 2: audiences are gravitating towards content that they feel very connected to.

610
00:30:44,360 --> 00:30:48,800
Speaker 2: And I think that's done very well in specialty services,

611
00:30:48,840 --> 00:30:52,160
Speaker 2: and whether it's services like ours or there are other

612
00:30:52,200 --> 00:30:56,360
Speaker 2: services that tackle other content verticals, to me, that's particularly exciting.

613
00:30:56,520 --> 00:30:59,040
Speaker 2: I have a stinking suspicion that you're going to see

614
00:30:59,040 --> 00:31:02,400
Speaker 2: some more of that happen name at the general entertainment level,

615
00:31:02,480 --> 00:31:05,920
Speaker 2: as some of the bigger services who've gone broad are

616
00:31:05,960 --> 00:31:08,320
Speaker 2: going to have to find identities. And that's something that

617
00:31:08,320 --> 00:31:10,480
Speaker 2: we think about a lot, is our identity in the

618
00:31:10,480 --> 00:31:15,120
Speaker 2: marketplace and what we stand for. And it's difficult as

619
00:31:15,160 --> 00:31:18,320
Speaker 2: a consumer to pin an identity broad identity on a

620
00:31:18,320 --> 00:31:21,480
Speaker 2: lot of the general services. They may mean something very

621
00:31:21,520 --> 00:31:25,160
Speaker 2: important to me, whether maybe it's a sport, certain sports

622
00:31:25,200 --> 00:31:28,760
Speaker 2: rights that they have, or it may be a show

623
00:31:28,800 --> 00:31:34,080
Speaker 2: that I really love. From a streaming or service wide identity,

624
00:31:34,680 --> 00:31:36,840
Speaker 2: I don't know if that really exists out there, but

625
00:31:37,280 --> 00:31:40,080
Speaker 2: we're in that business. And the reason I'm here and

626
00:31:40,080 --> 00:31:42,760
Speaker 2: I continue to be excited and motivated every day. And

627
00:31:42,800 --> 00:31:46,600
Speaker 2: why my team I've been able to build this organization

628
00:31:46,680 --> 00:31:48,959
Speaker 2: and we've been able to come together and bring in

629
00:31:49,000 --> 00:31:52,360
Speaker 2: people who've worked for all the major streaming services, who

630
00:31:52,400 --> 00:31:56,160
Speaker 2: are super dedicated on building something that can connect with audiences.

631
00:31:57,000 --> 00:31:59,000
Speaker 2: Why they're motivated to come in every day. It's all

632
00:31:59,040 --> 00:32:02,120
Speaker 2: about that direct relationship that we can have with the consumer.

633
00:32:02,240 --> 00:32:04,920
Speaker 2: So that's the thing that motivates me. That's the thing

634
00:32:04,960 --> 00:32:08,120
Speaker 2: I'm excited about. I suspect you're going to see more

635
00:32:08,160 --> 00:32:10,840
Speaker 2: of that happening and more experimentation about how to go

636
00:32:11,000 --> 00:32:12,800
Speaker 2: deeper with specific audience segments.

637
00:32:13,080 --> 00:32:16,080
Speaker 1: Speaking about the success of Linley, I believe you guys

638
00:32:16,080 --> 00:32:17,600
Speaker 1: have already picked that up for a second season.

639
00:32:17,920 --> 00:32:20,840
Speaker 2: Yes, yeah, I was super excited about that. This is

640
00:32:20,880 --> 00:32:24,200
Speaker 2: a show that we believed in and bought into in

641
00:32:24,200 --> 00:32:27,480
Speaker 2: the very early phase and very rare for us to

642
00:32:27,520 --> 00:32:29,960
Speaker 2: think about picking up a show and commissioning a show

643
00:32:30,000 --> 00:32:33,640
Speaker 2: when there isn't a UK broadcaster associated with them. So

644
00:32:33,720 --> 00:32:37,320
Speaker 2: successful for us. You know, we really do see ourselves

645
00:32:37,400 --> 00:32:40,360
Speaker 2: in a way as ambassadors in British culture. You really

646
00:32:40,360 --> 00:32:43,240
Speaker 2: do believe that we are the primary route to market

647
00:32:43,480 --> 00:32:47,880
Speaker 2: for British television into the US and North American marketplace.

648
00:32:48,200 --> 00:32:50,040
Speaker 2: We say what we are on the ten as the

649
00:32:50,040 --> 00:32:52,360
Speaker 2: Brits would say we are brick Box. There's really no

650
00:32:52,480 --> 00:32:55,960
Speaker 2: other streaming service that says exactly who they are, So

651
00:32:56,000 --> 00:32:59,720
Speaker 2: we do owe hot, we do owe a responsibility to

652
00:32:59,760 --> 00:33:03,280
Speaker 2: that content, be that ambassador, to be that bridge between

653
00:33:03,520 --> 00:33:07,080
Speaker 2: British television and the audiences that love it today but

654
00:33:07,120 --> 00:33:10,200
Speaker 2: also we'll love it in the future, and it's a

655
00:33:10,280 --> 00:33:11,640
Speaker 2: role that we take very seriously.

656
00:33:18,000 --> 00:33:20,120
Speaker 1: Thank you for joining us for this week's episode of

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Speaker 1: Variety Strictly Business. You can find new episodes weekly on

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Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, recently promoted to BBC Studios Direct to Consumers,

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Speaker 1: CEO Robert Schildehouse has spent the past few years building

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Speaker 1: up the platform's original programming