WEBVTT - How Streamer BritBox Shapes U.K. TV Strategy Through Success With American Audiences

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Strictly Business, brity's weekly podcast featuring conversations about

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<v Speaker 1>the business of media and entertainment. I'm senior business writer,

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<v Speaker 1>TV and Video games Jennifer Moss packed the library of

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<v Speaker 1>gripping dramas and quirky comedies. BritBox has carved out a

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<v Speaker 1>unique space in the streaming world as the destination for

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<v Speaker 1>British television outside of the UK. Recently promoted to BBC

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<v Speaker 1>Studios Direct to Consumers. CEO Robert Schildehouse has spent the

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<v Speaker 1>past few years building up the platform's original programming, including

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<v Speaker 1>recent releases Riot Women and Linley and the upcoming Priding

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<v Speaker 1>Prejudice inspired drama The Other Bennett's Sister, as well as

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<v Speaker 1>overseeing a targeted marketing strategy that's up subscriber numbers for

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<v Speaker 1>the one niche genre streamer that has now cornered the

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<v Speaker 1>Anglo file market in the US. Robert, thank you, thank

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<v Speaker 1>you so much for joining me today. I appreciate it,

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<v Speaker 1>my pleasure.

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<v Speaker 2>Thanks for having me.

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<v Speaker 1>I'd like to start off with the way we kind

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<v Speaker 1>of speak with everyone in these which is really just

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<v Speaker 1>going over your background first, where you came from, how

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<v Speaker 1>you started, and how you got to where you are now.

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<v Speaker 2>I started in a very non media career in finance,

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<v Speaker 2>but recognized rather quickly that something was changing in the industry.

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<v Speaker 2>I happened to be in graduate school when YouTube launched,

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<v Speaker 2>and say that was the one good idea I ever

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<v Speaker 2>had in my career, was that something was going to

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<v Speaker 2>change in the way content was being distributed to consumers,

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<v Speaker 2>and broadband was becoming ubiquitous to the home, high quality

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<v Speaker 2>video was being distributed over the Internet, and I just

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<v Speaker 2>knew that the world that we lived in, where other

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<v Speaker 2>people were making programming decisions on where and how you

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<v Speaker 2>watched content, was on the precipice of changing. And so

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<v Speaker 2>I moved to Los Angeles just on a whim. I

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<v Speaker 2>probably spent days of my life there at that point,

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<v Speaker 2>but realized that was probably the place where things were

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<v Speaker 2>going to happen. As the Hulu story started to emerge

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<v Speaker 2>in two thousand and seven about Hollywood coming together to

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<v Speaker 2>coalesce around a common streaming platform to really to combat piracy,

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<v Speaker 2>which I think now, obviously the streaming is how most

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<v Speaker 2>of us are consuming content all the time. But back then,

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<v Speaker 2>looking at what had happened in music industry, powers that

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<v Speaker 2>be in Hollywood were legitimately concerned about this looming existential

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<v Speaker 2>threat of what happens, whether it's existing platforms where they

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<v Speaker 2>don't have control or piracy and just generally speaking, become

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<v Speaker 2>the principal means for content distribution, they lose that control.

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

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<v Speaker 2>just bluffed my way in. I reached out to somebody

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<v Speaker 2>with the title recruiter at Hulu on LinkedIn, which at

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<v Speaker 2>that time was still a very small website. I wasn't

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<v Speaker 2>allowed of noise, and they got back to me. I

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<v Speaker 2>came in and they asked me where I fit best,

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<v Speaker 2>and I asked where they needed the most help, and

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<v Speaker 2>they said content, and I said I can do that.

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<v Speaker 2>And I think just the good news at the time

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<v Speaker 2>was nobody really knew what they were doing, and so

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<v Speaker 2>I was the beneficiary of just being part of an

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<v Speaker 2>industry that was really getting off its feet at the time.

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<v Speaker 2>And I had an amazing experience there, who was the

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<v Speaker 2>most definitive time in my career up until the most

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<v Speaker 2>recent chapter here at BBC and brick Box. But it

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<v Speaker 2>really gave me an opportunity to be a part of

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<v Speaker 2>something in its ncency and watch it grow, and leading

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<v Speaker 2>our content acquisition efforts and really thinking about programming and

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<v Speaker 2>strategy for how we were going to present ourselves to audiences,

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<v Speaker 2>and watching the industry develop. And remember this is a

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<v Speaker 2>time when we're talking in two thousand and eight when

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<v Speaker 2>Netflix was still principally known for delivering DVDs and red envelopes,

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<v Speaker 2>and Amazon was kind of dipping its toe in time

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<v Speaker 2>at the time in streaming. But Hulu was really the

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<v Speaker 2>first pure play streaming platform in the marketplace, and we

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<v Speaker 2>had an incredible I had an incredible experience there that

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<v Speaker 2>really set off the rest of my career. And from

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<v Speaker 2>there I spent a long time at CBS and just

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<v Speaker 2>around I left the company in the wake of the

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<v Speaker 2>merger with Viacom that ultimately created Paramount, And I've lived

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<v Speaker 2>in Los Angeles that whole time, and then moved to

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<v Speaker 2>New York and I got a phone call out of

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<v Speaker 2>a vloo really about an opportunity at this British streaming

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<v Speaker 2>service called brick Box. And I would tell the story

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<v Speaker 2>because I think it's accurate, but it also sort of

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<v Speaker 2>gives purpose to a lot of what I do and

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<v Speaker 2>a lot of what I did at who and what

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<v Speaker 2>I'm most proud of really is recognizing that brilliant content

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

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<v Speaker 2>but also as a consumer and as an American. I

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<v Speaker 2>talked about this a lot that we never really were

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<v Speaker 2>exposed to British television or television from anywhere on American

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<v Speaker 2>airwaves growing up, because that was really just dominated by

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<v Speaker 2>what was coming out of the Hollywood system. And what

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<v Speaker 2>I recognized as we had a mission to grow to

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<v Speaker 2>bring the world's premium content online was that great content

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<v Speaker 2>was being produced all over the world, whether it's in

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<v Speaker 2>Japan or Korea, or the Nordics, or Israel or Latin

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<v Speaker 2>American certainly the UK. And so when I got this call,

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<v Speaker 2>I was intrigued by the idea of connecting audiences with

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<v Speaker 2>the content that they love where there's friction between I've

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<v Speaker 2>been really building that bridge and I'd done that before.

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<v Speaker 2>And interestingly, my mother was visiting me at the time,

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<v Speaker 2>and she asked me what I was doing professionally or

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<v Speaker 2>with my life. I just moved to New York and

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<v Speaker 2>was exploring a few options, and I mentioned to her

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<v Speaker 2>that I just started kicking off a conversation with this

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<v Speaker 2>content with this streaming service, that's the joint venture between

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<v Speaker 2>two major media companies in the UK. And she looked

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<v Speaker 2>at me and said, doing brick Box. And I looked

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<v Speaker 2>at hid, what do you know about brit Fox And

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<v Speaker 2>she said, that's all I watch. And that really kicked

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<v Speaker 2>off my understanding of the value that BritBox brings to

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<v Speaker 2>its audience and how much they love the service, and

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<v Speaker 2>how much it's beyond utility. It's really a relationship that

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<v Speaker 2>BritBox has built with its audience. And I think that

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<v Speaker 2>was really the moment where the light bulb went off

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<v Speaker 2>of my head that said, this is that there's a

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<v Speaker 2>real opportunity here to grow this thing. You know, I

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<v Speaker 2>was fortunate enough to start the company started the company

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<v Speaker 2>shortly afterwards. It was a joint venture at the time

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<v Speaker 2>between the BBC and ITV, and just that set off

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<v Speaker 2>the last three and a half years or so really

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<v Speaker 2>just an experience I could not have predicted or scripted

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<v Speaker 2>into British television. And really, I say this and I

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<v Speaker 2>mean it, that I have the best job in the business.

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<v Speaker 2>And I'm not just talking about the British television industry.

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<v Speaker 2>I think the entertainment industry and think anyone listening to

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<v Speaker 2>your podcast or reads who reads the news and deeply

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<v Speaker 2>understands what's going on in this industry right now, it's

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

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<v Speaker 2>have to get into what everyone else is dealing with,

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<v Speaker 2>but I think from the vantage point of where I sit,

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<v Speaker 2>which is getting to experience how to connect with consumers

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<v Speaker 2>in a very deep way and build something that really

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<v Speaker 2>means something to audiences and do that within the environment

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<v Speaker 2>of a global, major media company is just it's thrilling

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<v Speaker 2>for me. And I've had the opportunity to just build

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<v Speaker 2>a world class organization and hire some really incredible people

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<v Speaker 2>that have worked in major media companies like I have,

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<v Speaker 2>and we're all just super invested in building a service

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<v Speaker 2>that has a sustainable, long term business model and really

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<v Speaker 2>continues to delight to audiences. And we all come into

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<v Speaker 2>work every day motivated to do that.

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<v Speaker 3>I'm sure I'm not unique in this at all.

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<v Speaker 1>But you were mentioning, you know, people, how you get

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<v Speaker 1>introduced to British television and it being a little more difficult.

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<v Speaker 1>Earlier I was down to Dabby on PBS and watching

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<v Speaker 1>my Dad's money Python Flying Circus DVDs and that was

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<v Speaker 1>about it. So I wanted to ask you, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>how you think that these pockets of large fandoms like

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<v Speaker 1>you're speaking about your mother, my mother in law as well,

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<v Speaker 1>find these things when there wasn't as much of a

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<v Speaker 1>market for it. And now how BritBox makes it accessible

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<v Speaker 1>as well, So like how people were going about finding

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<v Speaker 1>British content previously and what Britbeck says to make that

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<v Speaker 1>more seamless, right, I think.

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

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<v Speaker 2>just wasn't a great through to market. I think PBS

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<v Speaker 2>Masterpiece was probably the principal way that people discovered British television,

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<v Speaker 2>and that was a very thin sliver of what the

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<v Speaker 2>scope of a British television means. It was it's principally

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<v Speaker 2>costume drama like Dowt Nabbey for example, and Doubt Nabby

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<v Speaker 2>had also the benefit of really taking advantage of the

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<v Speaker 2>streaming ecosystem emerging at the right time for it to

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<v Speaker 2>reach brought audiences that wouldn't necessarily be tuning into PBS

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<v Speaker 2>or looking at you know, going through your parents' DVDs.

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<v Speaker 2>Like you mentioned, there really wasn't another way into American

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<v Speaker 2>living rooms and what streaming has done, not just with BritBox,

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<v Speaker 2>but I think every platform, and I mentioned it's a

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<v Speaker 2>lot of what I was working on when I was

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<v Speaker 2>at Hulu very early on had to do with connecting

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<v Speaker 2>audiences with content that they loved and building that bridge.

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<v Speaker 2>We have multiple challenges like every like every streaming service

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<v Speaker 2>does you and we have to earn our way into

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<v Speaker 2>the living room like every streaming service does. And then

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<v Speaker 2>we're the British one. And that has a benefit if

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<v Speaker 2>you if you're an angle file or you're an expat,

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

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

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<v Speaker 2>maybe that isn't the thing that you're into. And so

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<v Speaker 2>a lot of our job is to create the on

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<v Speaker 2>ramps in the marketplace to give people a reason to

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<v Speaker 2>give us a try. And once they discover that we

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<v Speaker 2>have amazing television shows from and distinctive television shows from

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<v Speaker 2>what they might be able to see in the general

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<v Speaker 2>entertainment marketplace, and they have eight thousand hours from the

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<v Speaker 2>Canada British television. Once you walk into our service, they

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<v Speaker 2>tend to stay with us and stay with us for

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<v Speaker 2>a long time.

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<v Speaker 1>Let's talk about the eight thousand hours because one thing,

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<v Speaker 1>I have a lot of friends who always feel like,

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<v Speaker 1>I know what you should be watching on television because

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<v Speaker 1>of my job, tell or where can I watch more

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<v Speaker 1>of this?

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<v Speaker 3>Or where can I get this kind of thing?

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<v Speaker 1>And I'm like, I don't know that came out, and

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<v Speaker 1>you want to watch something similar to that, You're going

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<v Speaker 1>to have to like google what is similar?

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<v Speaker 3>And you all have eight thousand hours of content.

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<v Speaker 1>So when it's something like well Netflix had this show

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<v Speaker 1>and it was great, but they don't have another comparable

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<v Speaker 1>thing for me to go watch next, how do you

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<v Speaker 1>all work on that? And looking at that market and

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<v Speaker 1>that availab watch that you have endless amounts If you

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<v Speaker 1>liked this, we have this.

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<v Speaker 2>Right well, That's a huge part of our audience acquisition

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<v Speaker 2>strategy is that when we use content to create those

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<v Speaker 2>on ramps, we think very deeply about Hey, what's the

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<v Speaker 2>next six months and what somebody is going to watch

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<v Speaker 2>and how do we bring somebody in not just for

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<v Speaker 2>a show, but to enjoy the entire portfolio that we have.

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<v Speaker 2>So I mentioned British television isn't a genre. Spans all

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<v Speaker 2>sorts of genres. They make straight drama and comedy and

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<v Speaker 2>sci fi and thriller and true crime and all. There's

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<v Speaker 2>a gamut of what makes British television very similar in

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<v Speaker 2>many ways to what you get out of the Hollywood system.

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<v Speaker 2>But there are a few distinctive categories that where British

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<v Speaker 2>television stands out and is globally known to stand out.

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<v Speaker 2>And mystery and adjacent to mystery, just the broader crime

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<v Speaker 2>genre is something where British television is known and truly

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<v Speaker 2>is distinctive. Another area is period and you mentioned Dow

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<v Speaker 2>Nabby before. I think the beneficiary of the long relationship

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<v Speaker 2>that British television has had with PBA and PBS Masterpiece

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<v Speaker 2>in this market has meant there has been some for

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<v Speaker 2>the costume drama, the period piece into American audience to

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<v Speaker 2>American audiences. And so those are the areas that we

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<v Speaker 2>spend most of our time on BritBox specifically, and we

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<v Speaker 2>want to make sure that you don't have that issue

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<v Speaker 2>that you show up, you watch the one show that

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<v Speaker 2>somebody told you to watch and there's nothing there for you.

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<v Speaker 2>I call it the clear, well lit paths. The proposition like,

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<v Speaker 2>can we make sure that if we bring somebody in

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<v Speaker 2>for one thing, there are there is a very clear

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<v Speaker 2>path for them to enjoy the rest of what we

0:11:33.120 --> 0:11:35.239
<v Speaker 2>have in the service. And that's really been our strategy.

0:11:35.360 --> 0:11:37.160
<v Speaker 1>So what are you bringing people on for right now?

0:11:37.200 --> 0:11:38.960
<v Speaker 1>And what's coming up that you're excited about?

0:11:39.000 --> 0:11:42.440
<v Speaker 2>Sure? So our slate is something I'm super proud of

0:11:42.440 --> 0:11:44.520
<v Speaker 2>this year. You know, one of the areas that we

0:11:44.840 --> 0:11:48.160
<v Speaker 2>that we are incredibly proud of is the depth of

0:11:48.280 --> 0:11:52.240
<v Speaker 2>Agatha Christie programming, the Queen of Crime, probably the most

0:11:52.320 --> 0:11:55.000
<v Speaker 2>well known voice of mystery coming out of the UK,

0:11:55.160 --> 0:11:58.240
<v Speaker 2>and you've had we have had excellent success with content

0:11:58.280 --> 0:11:59.959
<v Speaker 2>from her from the library of back at the Career,

0:12:00.320 --> 0:12:05.600
<v Speaker 2>but also some adaptations recent adaptations, So we have Why

0:12:05.600 --> 0:12:08.920
<v Speaker 2>did dazk Evans Murder? Is Easy Towards Zero, which is

0:12:08.960 --> 0:12:12.360
<v Speaker 2>our most recent series with Matthew Resent Angelica Houston, and

0:12:12.400 --> 0:12:14.800
<v Speaker 2>then we have so this year we have Tommy and

0:12:14.840 --> 0:12:18.200
<v Speaker 2>Tuppen's coming out and Tommy and Tuppen is the first

0:12:18.320 --> 0:12:22.640
<v Speaker 2>modern adaptation of an Agatha Christie IP in English language.

0:12:22.640 --> 0:12:24.400
<v Speaker 2>There may have been some things elsewhere in the world,

0:12:24.440 --> 0:12:27.080
<v Speaker 2>but in English language it's the first and we're just

0:12:27.120 --> 0:12:29.280
<v Speaker 2>super excited about that, and we know that our audience

0:12:29.320 --> 0:12:33.800
<v Speaker 2>loves mystery and interestingly, that show we've commissioned out of

0:12:33.840 --> 0:12:36.720
<v Speaker 2>the US, so we can get into that if you like,

0:12:37.440 --> 0:12:40.440
<v Speaker 2>on how we think about programming and commissioning programming. But

0:12:41.000 --> 0:12:43.760
<v Speaker 2>just super excited about that show. We have the other

0:12:43.760 --> 0:12:46.280
<v Speaker 2>Bennett's Sister is a show that we're incredibly excited about

0:12:46.280 --> 0:12:49.160
<v Speaker 2>that takes place in the world of Pride and Prejudice.

0:12:49.200 --> 0:12:49.800
<v Speaker 3>I'm excited for it.

0:12:50.400 --> 0:12:53.120
<v Speaker 2>Well, so that takes place in the world of pride

0:12:53.160 --> 0:12:55.920
<v Speaker 2>and prejudice, it centers around Mary Bennett was sort of

0:12:55.920 --> 0:13:00.000
<v Speaker 2>the often overlooked Bennett's Sister and Pride and Prejudice very very,

0:13:00.040 --> 0:13:03.760
<v Speaker 2>very successful novel and a lot of our content originates

0:13:04.280 --> 0:13:07.840
<v Speaker 2>from books and book series and being part of that

0:13:08.200 --> 0:13:10.960
<v Speaker 2>universe I think will give us an opportunity to extend

0:13:10.960 --> 0:13:13.520
<v Speaker 2>that on round to lots of new audiences. So that's

0:13:13.520 --> 0:13:15.640
<v Speaker 2>a show that we're very excited about. And then look,

0:13:15.679 --> 0:13:19.720
<v Speaker 2>we've got great a huge slate of returning series, headlined

0:13:19.760 --> 0:13:23.440
<v Speaker 2>by the second season of Ludwig starring David Mitchell, that

0:13:23.480 --> 0:13:26.160
<v Speaker 2>we're very excited about. And so just a very rich

0:13:26.320 --> 0:13:29.920
<v Speaker 2>slate of new to BritBox and returning series that we

0:13:30.000 --> 0:13:31.760
<v Speaker 2>know will delight our audiences.

0:13:31.920 --> 0:13:34.360
<v Speaker 1>When you're looking at the top down view here and

0:13:34.400 --> 0:13:37.120
<v Speaker 1>how you want to approach programming and balance that with

0:13:37.160 --> 0:13:39.640
<v Speaker 1>the immense amount of library content there is how do

0:13:39.640 --> 0:13:42.640
<v Speaker 1>you see BritBox as a producer versus BritBox as a platform.

0:13:42.840 --> 0:13:45.000
<v Speaker 3>And you had mentioned commissioning in the US.

0:13:45.080 --> 0:13:49.760
<v Speaker 2>So BritBox really started by being an acquirer programming. So

0:13:50.360 --> 0:13:53.000
<v Speaker 2>this is before my time, but I mentioned there just

0:13:53.120 --> 0:13:56.559
<v Speaker 2>wasn't a lot of British television available elsewhere in the

0:13:56.640 --> 0:13:59.320
<v Speaker 2>US market. So the idea of aggregating that and putting

0:13:59.360 --> 0:14:03.200
<v Speaker 2>it in one place was the original idea. As we've

0:14:03.240 --> 0:14:06.240
<v Speaker 2>grown the business and evolved and moved beyond just being

0:14:06.240 --> 0:14:09.920
<v Speaker 2>a place for the library programming to delight you know,

0:14:09.960 --> 0:14:12.480
<v Speaker 2>somebody who would call themselves an angle file or an

0:14:12.520 --> 0:14:15.640
<v Speaker 2>expat into just becoming more of a of a service

0:14:15.679 --> 0:14:19.040
<v Speaker 2>that's accessible to all. We've moved upstream in the way

0:14:19.080 --> 0:14:23.640
<v Speaker 2>that we think about programmings. We are an extremely active

0:14:23.720 --> 0:14:27.160
<v Speaker 2>co commissioner and in some cases commissioner British Television and

0:14:27.600 --> 0:14:30.880
<v Speaker 2>we and I frankly are green lighting television shows that

0:14:31.000 --> 0:14:33.560
<v Speaker 2>millions of people are watching in the UK, and I

0:14:33.600 --> 0:14:35.920
<v Speaker 2>mentioned Tommy and Tuppens that's coming later this year. But

0:14:36.440 --> 0:14:38.440
<v Speaker 2>we had a series that came to us called Blimley

0:14:38.600 --> 0:14:42.200
<v Speaker 2>from Colin Calendar and Playground, which is a Colin is

0:14:42.280 --> 0:14:47.680
<v Speaker 2>an extremely well renowned producer, and we commissioned that and

0:14:47.760 --> 0:14:50.480
<v Speaker 2>I green Latch green lit that show in the US

0:14:51.120 --> 0:14:53.680
<v Speaker 2>and it made its way back to the UK via

0:14:53.720 --> 0:14:56.960
<v Speaker 2>the acquisition route at BBC, so there wasn't a UK

0:14:57.080 --> 0:15:00.240
<v Speaker 2>broadcaster involved in that commission and it turned out to

0:15:00.280 --> 0:15:03.040
<v Speaker 2>be one of the if not the biggest drama premiere

0:15:03.360 --> 0:15:06.120
<v Speaker 2>on the BBC in the last year. And so we're

0:15:06.120 --> 0:15:09.200
<v Speaker 2>taking a very proactive approach at knowing what our audience

0:15:09.240 --> 0:15:11.880
<v Speaker 2>looks for, what their tastes are and what they like

0:15:12.120 --> 0:15:17.440
<v Speaker 2>aggressively going after those shows, participating upstream. And this even

0:15:17.440 --> 0:15:21.520
<v Speaker 2>goes beyond commissioning. We develop projects, We listen to ideas

0:15:21.800 --> 0:15:24.840
<v Speaker 2>at the earliest stage and we're talking to every premium

0:15:24.840 --> 0:15:27.760
<v Speaker 2>producer in the UK and a lot of the projects

0:15:27.800 --> 0:15:31.280
<v Speaker 2>that are on our slate come from from rab or

0:15:31.360 --> 0:15:33.480
<v Speaker 2>agnostic about where they come from, and they come from

0:15:33.520 --> 0:15:36.040
<v Speaker 2>the best producers in the UK, whether it's Left Bank

0:15:36.120 --> 0:15:41.560
<v Speaker 2>Pictures who made The Crown. They're the producers of The Lady,

0:15:41.920 --> 0:15:44.160
<v Speaker 2>which is a new series that we have on the

0:15:44.160 --> 0:15:47.120
<v Speaker 2>service right now, and we talk about Tommy and Tuppens

0:15:47.160 --> 0:15:51.160
<v Speaker 2>that came from Lookout Point that's a BBC Studios owned label,

0:15:51.200 --> 0:15:53.320
<v Speaker 2>and that they made Happy Value, which is one of

0:15:53.360 --> 0:15:56.440
<v Speaker 2>the most well regarded series from Sally Wainwright UK that

0:15:56.800 --> 0:15:59.920
<v Speaker 2>many American audiences are familiar with. So we're working with

0:16:00.160 --> 0:16:03.360
<v Speaker 2>the best producers in the UK and if there's an

0:16:03.360 --> 0:16:06.040
<v Speaker 2>opportunity and if it makes sense for us to participate

0:16:06.120 --> 0:16:10.120
<v Speaker 2>upstream in the commissioning or co production phase of things,

0:16:10.960 --> 0:16:11.640
<v Speaker 2>when we do so.

0:16:11.840 --> 0:16:14.840
<v Speaker 1>It's very interesting Unlimley in particular, and would you say

0:16:14.880 --> 0:16:17.280
<v Speaker 1>it's kind of reverse engineering that you guys are able

0:16:17.400 --> 0:16:20.440
<v Speaker 1>to see what the North American audience who's interested in

0:16:20.480 --> 0:16:23.440
<v Speaker 1>British television would be interested in, and that then leads

0:16:23.440 --> 0:16:25.600
<v Speaker 1>to what the British audience would be interested in.

0:16:25.840 --> 0:16:27.680
<v Speaker 2>I think there are certain lanes where there's a great

0:16:28.120 --> 0:16:31.640
<v Speaker 2>overlapp and I think the mystery and again broader crime

0:16:31.880 --> 0:16:34.960
<v Speaker 2>genre is something that there's a pretty good signals if

0:16:35.000 --> 0:16:37.160
<v Speaker 2>it works in the UK for me, for that audience

0:16:37.480 --> 0:16:39.880
<v Speaker 2>in that genre, it's something that's going to find our

0:16:39.920 --> 0:16:42.880
<v Speaker 2>audience or delight arts as well. And this is a

0:16:43.040 --> 0:16:45.440
<v Speaker 2>specific show and we see lots of them, we just know.

0:16:46.040 --> 0:16:49.640
<v Speaker 2>And we've got again an amazing commissioning team that actually

0:16:49.680 --> 0:16:53.040
<v Speaker 2>sits in the UK, that's made up actually both Americans

0:16:53.120 --> 0:16:57.520
<v Speaker 2>and Brits, but it specifically sits in London that screens

0:16:57.560 --> 0:17:01.600
<v Speaker 2>all of our inbound and they have such an incredible

0:17:01.680 --> 0:17:05.720
<v Speaker 2>pulse on what our audience in the US is excited

0:17:05.720 --> 0:17:09.160
<v Speaker 2>about and would be excited about. And yeah, I lean

0:17:09.200 --> 0:17:11.640
<v Speaker 2>on them, and I think broadly our programming team leans

0:17:11.640 --> 0:17:14.080
<v Speaker 2>on them immensely. But we have a really good understanding

0:17:14.080 --> 0:17:16.160
<v Speaker 2>of what our audience likes and we've talked to them.

0:17:16.520 --> 0:17:18.600
<v Speaker 2>We spend a lot of time and you listen to them,

0:17:18.680 --> 0:17:21.680
<v Speaker 2>and I think the output of that are some million

0:17:21.720 --> 0:17:23.199
<v Speaker 2>incredible shows that we're very proud of.

0:17:23.720 --> 0:17:27.600
<v Speaker 1>Your recent promotion gives your official title BBC Studios Direct

0:17:27.680 --> 0:17:31.119
<v Speaker 1>to Consumer CEO, So i'd like to ask included in

0:17:31.160 --> 0:17:33.960
<v Speaker 1>that is BBC Select as well and any future DTOC

0:17:34.119 --> 0:17:36.720
<v Speaker 1>businesses in North America so well.

0:17:36.840 --> 0:17:38.840
<v Speaker 3>BritBox is a big focus of our conversation here.

0:17:38.880 --> 0:17:41.520
<v Speaker 1>I'd like to ask about BBC Select and plans for

0:17:41.560 --> 0:17:44.399
<v Speaker 1>future potential streaming ventures are what you're looking at, what

0:17:44.440 --> 0:17:45.240
<v Speaker 1>you're interested in.

0:17:46.000 --> 0:17:49.520
<v Speaker 2>Sure, So I mentioned BritBox started as a JV and

0:17:49.840 --> 0:17:54.359
<v Speaker 2>within the BBC, within BBC Studios, there there was another

0:17:54.440 --> 0:17:58.320
<v Speaker 2>distinctive lane of programming that was being pursued, which was

0:17:58.400 --> 0:18:03.240
<v Speaker 2>factual programming and that's something that again British documentaries have

0:18:03.359 --> 0:18:06.920
<v Speaker 2>a slightly different tone that than what you typically get

0:18:06.920 --> 0:18:08.800
<v Speaker 2>out of out of the US audience. And what the

0:18:08.840 --> 0:18:12.680
<v Speaker 2>BBC discovered, BBC Studios discovered was there was an opportunity

0:18:12.800 --> 0:18:16.160
<v Speaker 2>to lean into that lane. And so somewhat in parallel

0:18:16.200 --> 0:18:18.640
<v Speaker 2>to having this joint venture of ITV, they had launched

0:18:19.240 --> 0:18:22.920
<v Speaker 2>a streaming service just focus on factual opportunities and that's

0:18:23.000 --> 0:18:26.040
<v Speaker 2>BBC Select. And so once we were brought into the

0:18:26.080 --> 0:18:29.240
<v Speaker 2>fold through the acquisition of ITV share in brick Box,

0:18:29.400 --> 0:18:32.439
<v Speaker 2>we took a look at where can we leverage the

0:18:32.520 --> 0:18:36.560
<v Speaker 2>platform the infrastructure of brick Box to supercharge the growth

0:18:36.840 --> 0:18:39.919
<v Speaker 2>of other things within the broader portfolio and Select was

0:18:39.920 --> 0:18:43.639
<v Speaker 2>a very obvious first place to start. So we've integrated

0:18:43.680 --> 0:18:48.640
<v Speaker 2>that business in really without any hiccups, into BritBox and rebranded.

0:18:48.880 --> 0:18:51.240
<v Speaker 2>Really at a corporate level, we're calling it direct to consumer,

0:18:51.280 --> 0:18:54.040
<v Speaker 2>but we're not. We're still from a consumer facing perspective

0:18:54.040 --> 0:18:57.879
<v Speaker 2>brick Box and BBC Select, and but what we've been

0:18:57.920 --> 0:19:00.720
<v Speaker 2>able to do is really use the k abilities that

0:19:00.760 --> 0:19:03.480
<v Speaker 2>we've built at brick Box to accelerate the growth. It's

0:19:03.560 --> 0:19:07.680
<v Speaker 2>already very impressive and profitable service in Select. And then

0:19:07.840 --> 0:19:10.600
<v Speaker 2>you know, in terms of future plans, we're just you know,

0:19:10.600 --> 0:19:13.240
<v Speaker 2>we're open minded and assessing the market like everything else.

0:19:13.280 --> 0:19:15.000
<v Speaker 2>So there's a lot of chaos out there, and I

0:19:15.000 --> 0:19:17.440
<v Speaker 2>think that just leaves us us in a position where

0:19:17.680 --> 0:19:19.879
<v Speaker 2>there may be opportunities in the future to pursuit and

0:19:19.960 --> 0:19:22.480
<v Speaker 2>nothing to report today. But what we are doing is

0:19:22.520 --> 0:19:26.439
<v Speaker 2>building the infrastructure to be able to support multiple faces

0:19:26.480 --> 0:19:29.639
<v Speaker 2>to the consumer and also use them together. So we

0:19:29.640 --> 0:19:32.800
<v Speaker 2>can talk at some point about our premium service Brickbox Premiere,

0:19:32.880 --> 0:19:36.439
<v Speaker 2>but we're the content from BBC Select lives within the

0:19:36.440 --> 0:19:40.560
<v Speaker 2>premium tier for brick Box Premium service also, so we're

0:19:40.600 --> 0:19:45.560
<v Speaker 2>just constantly looking for ways to optimize our proposition to

0:19:45.600 --> 0:19:50.679
<v Speaker 2>consumers and leverage the infrastructure that we've built to supercharge

0:19:50.720 --> 0:19:51.560
<v Speaker 2>our businesses on.

0:19:51.560 --> 0:19:53.840
<v Speaker 1>The premier option. I'd love to know how that's looking

0:19:53.920 --> 0:19:56.119
<v Speaker 1>right now. What you've seen as the consumer response to

0:19:56.119 --> 0:19:57.520
<v Speaker 1>that since launching that tier.

0:19:57.680 --> 0:20:01.560
<v Speaker 2>Sure Brickbox Premiere. The origin story there is when you

0:20:01.600 --> 0:20:04.600
<v Speaker 2>look at how every service out there is thinking about

0:20:04.760 --> 0:20:08.000
<v Speaker 2>growing revenue per user are who usually I call it

0:20:08.040 --> 0:20:09.879
<v Speaker 2>bad news. If you get an email and you're in

0:20:10.000 --> 0:20:13.199
<v Speaker 2>box that says you're paying you're now paying more for

0:20:13.240 --> 0:20:16.200
<v Speaker 2>a service today than you were yesterday, and everyone's gotten

0:20:16.200 --> 0:20:19.320
<v Speaker 2>them any for every service and we've raised price al

0:20:19.400 --> 0:20:22.000
<v Speaker 2>So it's not a great feeling. But in order to

0:20:22.040 --> 0:20:24.760
<v Speaker 2>bring some of this incredible programming and continue to create

0:20:24.800 --> 0:20:27.000
<v Speaker 2>a service that people love, we need to continue to

0:20:27.040 --> 0:20:29.880
<v Speaker 2>invest and invest there. So the challenge that I really

0:20:29.880 --> 0:20:32.800
<v Speaker 2>gave the team was how can we increase our revenue

0:20:32.800 --> 0:20:35.000
<v Speaker 2>per user through good news? And are there ways that

0:20:35.000 --> 0:20:37.720
<v Speaker 2>we can bring our audience And we know how loyal

0:20:37.760 --> 0:20:40.440
<v Speaker 2>our audience is and they tell us how much they

0:20:40.480 --> 0:20:42.240
<v Speaker 2>love us. Can we bring them closer to the program

0:20:42.359 --> 0:20:44.800
<v Speaker 2>and can we give them more? And so we launched

0:20:44.880 --> 0:20:48.080
<v Speaker 2>the service called Britbock's Premiere over the summer in August,

0:20:48.359 --> 0:20:53.400
<v Speaker 2>and really it's principal value proposition is earlier access to programming.

0:20:54.880 --> 0:20:59.360
<v Speaker 2>I'm old fashioned. I love the week over week well

0:20:59.359 --> 0:21:03.320
<v Speaker 2>a lot of a show. I think the binge valuable

0:21:03.359 --> 0:21:06.320
<v Speaker 2>for some people and they really love it, but there's

0:21:06.359 --> 0:21:10.080
<v Speaker 2>something about having that week to week conversation and a

0:21:10.080 --> 0:21:12.080
<v Speaker 2>little bit of a pause to reflect and think about

0:21:12.080 --> 0:21:15.320
<v Speaker 2>what you're watching, talk to your community and think about

0:21:15.440 --> 0:21:17.879
<v Speaker 2>where things are going, and especially in the world that

0:21:17.920 --> 0:21:19.399
<v Speaker 2>we play in, which is a lot of mystery and

0:21:19.400 --> 0:21:22.200
<v Speaker 2>suspense and what's going to happen and who done it, etc.

0:21:23.240 --> 0:21:25.960
<v Speaker 2>But we recognize that some users would prefer to just

0:21:25.960 --> 0:21:29.760
<v Speaker 2>have everything right now. We part of the value, part

0:21:29.800 --> 0:21:32.720
<v Speaker 2>of the proposition of Premiere is the early access to programming,

0:21:32.800 --> 0:21:35.720
<v Speaker 2>and mentioned BBC select the inclusion of those documentaries and

0:21:35.760 --> 0:21:39.160
<v Speaker 2>factual programming into the service. And then there's some compelling

0:21:39.200 --> 0:21:41.240
<v Speaker 2>product features that we've been hearing for a long time.

0:21:41.280 --> 0:21:44.880
<v Speaker 2>Their users wanted, they wanted four K, they wanted more

0:21:44.920 --> 0:21:49.320
<v Speaker 2>concurrent streams, they wanted temporary downloads and mobile devices, and

0:21:49.480 --> 0:21:52.480
<v Speaker 2>so we built this product and we said we're going

0:21:52.560 --> 0:21:55.120
<v Speaker 2>to release it in a very quiet way as an

0:21:55.160 --> 0:21:59.040
<v Speaker 2>annual only option and see what happens and continue to

0:21:59.080 --> 0:22:01.760
<v Speaker 2>tinker and continue to make it better and really hope

0:22:01.800 --> 0:22:03.840
<v Speaker 2>to evolve them into something that feels more like a

0:22:03.880 --> 0:22:07.440
<v Speaker 2>membership tire than something that's just a transactional relationship with

0:22:07.680 --> 0:22:09.760
<v Speaker 2>a service provider, which is I think of how we

0:22:09.840 --> 0:22:13.040
<v Speaker 2>think about a lot of our relationships with streaming services,

0:22:13.480 --> 0:22:16.639
<v Speaker 2>and the results have been phenomenal. We're going to exceed

0:22:16.680 --> 0:22:20.960
<v Speaker 2>our first year plan on that by probably around over

0:22:21.000 --> 0:22:25.639
<v Speaker 2>fifty percent. And we've just been we talked to what

0:22:25.680 --> 0:22:27.760
<v Speaker 2>I keep saying, we talk to our users a lot.

0:22:27.960 --> 0:22:31.399
<v Speaker 2>The response to what has been extremely positive. People always

0:22:31.400 --> 0:22:32.920
<v Speaker 2>want a little bit more, they want to feel close,

0:22:32.960 --> 0:22:34.800
<v Speaker 2>and we've got some really great ideas about how we

0:22:34.840 --> 0:22:37.280
<v Speaker 2>can continue to improve the service. But this is really

0:22:37.280 --> 0:22:40.160
<v Speaker 2>a super fan service and we are in the fandom business,

0:22:40.200 --> 0:22:43.520
<v Speaker 2>so we want to make sure we're always a step

0:22:43.560 --> 0:22:45.720
<v Speaker 2>ahead and thinking about how to give our users more

0:22:45.760 --> 0:22:48.720
<v Speaker 2>and if it has the benefit of creating more value

0:22:48.760 --> 0:22:51.640
<v Speaker 2>for the business as well, that's really impactful and important

0:22:51.640 --> 0:22:51.960
<v Speaker 2>as well.

0:22:52.320 --> 0:22:55.720
<v Speaker 1>Speaking about the fandom, you've launched a podcast now as well,

0:22:55.760 --> 0:22:58.400
<v Speaker 1>to go along with programming like to Know What.

0:22:58.880 --> 0:23:00.399
<v Speaker 3>Led to that Everyone's Lunch podcast.

0:23:00.440 --> 0:23:03.000
<v Speaker 1>We're on a podcast right now, but particularly ones that

0:23:03.040 --> 0:23:05.159
<v Speaker 1>are about content tied to a show.

0:23:05.560 --> 0:23:08.080
<v Speaker 3>I think after episode recap kind of things.

0:23:08.560 --> 0:23:10.280
<v Speaker 1>What led you all to this and thinking this is

0:23:10.280 --> 0:23:12.560
<v Speaker 1>something fans would want And what have you seen as

0:23:12.600 --> 0:23:14.400
<v Speaker 1>that reaction to the podcast and listeners.

0:23:14.560 --> 0:23:17.000
<v Speaker 2>I mean, we've had a couple episodes out right now,

0:23:17.040 --> 0:23:20.840
<v Speaker 2>the response has been very strong. This just follows the

0:23:20.880 --> 0:23:23.320
<v Speaker 2>trend of how do we get closer to audiences and

0:23:23.359 --> 0:23:25.920
<v Speaker 2>how do we create these ongrams and give people accessible

0:23:25.920 --> 0:23:29.199
<v Speaker 2>ways to experience brick Box And for new fans and

0:23:29.200 --> 0:23:32.040
<v Speaker 2>then for existing fans, how do we create community and

0:23:32.240 --> 0:23:34.640
<v Speaker 2>allow that fandom to thrive elsewhere? And you know that's

0:23:34.720 --> 0:23:36.800
<v Speaker 2>it's also a great example of how we do things

0:23:36.880 --> 0:23:39.240
<v Speaker 2>at brick Box. And it was an idea came that

0:23:39.520 --> 0:23:42.600
<v Speaker 2>was organically came up in a training workshop actually that

0:23:42.640 --> 0:23:45.840
<v Speaker 2>we had and we found the resources and said, just

0:23:46.280 --> 0:23:49.119
<v Speaker 2>sounds like a great idea. We're a very small organization

0:23:49.240 --> 0:23:52.080
<v Speaker 2>and so we don't have a lot of bureaucracy. We

0:23:52.119 --> 0:23:55.520
<v Speaker 2>don't operate in a despite being in a big media

0:23:55.640 --> 0:23:57.840
<v Speaker 2>environment and being part of the BBC, we don't try

0:23:57.920 --> 0:24:01.480
<v Speaker 2>to act like that and we try to just move quickly.

0:24:01.480 --> 0:24:04.359
<v Speaker 2>And there was an opportunity to get some great talent

0:24:04.480 --> 0:24:07.840
<v Speaker 2>and talk about TV and leverage the fact that we

0:24:08.520 --> 0:24:11.639
<v Speaker 2>do have relationships with talent that wants to help promote

0:24:11.640 --> 0:24:13.480
<v Speaker 2>their shows and get in front of audiences and give

0:24:13.480 --> 0:24:15.439
<v Speaker 2>them a flavor a little bit of behind the scenes

0:24:15.440 --> 0:24:18.440
<v Speaker 2>of the world that they operate in, and you, we're

0:24:18.480 --> 0:24:20.640
<v Speaker 2>just super excited about. It's just another way we can

0:24:20.920 --> 0:24:22.200
<v Speaker 2>reach users where.

0:24:22.080 --> 0:24:25.000
<v Speaker 1>They are at this point, with how long BritBox has

0:24:25.080 --> 0:24:27.480
<v Speaker 1>been around, now, how have you seen the reaction from

0:24:27.600 --> 0:24:31.040
<v Speaker 1>talent and creatives that you're working with change or has

0:24:31.040 --> 0:24:31.760
<v Speaker 1>it stayed the same?

0:24:31.840 --> 0:24:32.119
<v Speaker 3>Roughly?

0:24:32.200 --> 0:24:34.000
<v Speaker 1>What do you see is a reaction to working with

0:24:34.040 --> 0:24:37.280
<v Speaker 1>BritBox versus working with Netflix or Amazon or all these

0:24:37.280 --> 0:24:39.359
<v Speaker 1>other people who want to get in and want to

0:24:39.400 --> 0:24:42.520
<v Speaker 1>be part of period dramas in particular, and that content

0:24:42.760 --> 0:24:45.320
<v Speaker 1>Netflix is doing bred and prejudice right now? What leads

0:24:45.359 --> 0:24:48.080
<v Speaker 1>to wanting to work with BritBox over someone like that.

0:24:49.119 --> 0:24:53.639
<v Speaker 2>So we take incredible care of our programming and our talent,

0:24:53.720 --> 0:24:55.520
<v Speaker 2>and I think if you were to talk to them,

0:24:55.840 --> 0:24:57.879
<v Speaker 2>we want all of our talent and they come and

0:24:57.960 --> 0:25:00.320
<v Speaker 2>visit us, to go back to the UK and talk

0:25:00.320 --> 0:25:03.439
<v Speaker 2>about the incredible experience that they have. It's a huge

0:25:03.440 --> 0:25:06.320
<v Speaker 2>amount of effort put in to make them feel like

0:25:06.600 --> 0:25:10.199
<v Speaker 2>they mean everything to us, which they do because we

0:25:10.280 --> 0:25:12.040
<v Speaker 2>only play in one lane. So I'm not going to

0:25:12.080 --> 0:25:14.680
<v Speaker 2>speak to what goes on in other streaming services because

0:25:14.680 --> 0:25:17.440
<v Speaker 2>I don't really know. But when you think about general

0:25:17.560 --> 0:25:21.600
<v Speaker 2>entertainment services, British content is a part of what they do.

0:25:21.920 --> 0:25:24.560
<v Speaker 2>For us, it's everything that we do. And so when

0:25:24.600 --> 0:25:28.200
<v Speaker 2>we have a big, impactful tent pole show that maybe

0:25:28.200 --> 0:25:31.320
<v Speaker 2>somewhere else would be one of many, many things that

0:25:31.760 --> 0:25:34.880
<v Speaker 2>are happening for us, it's the most important thing. Whether

0:25:34.920 --> 0:25:37.400
<v Speaker 2>it's they're getting to see their faces in a billboard

0:25:37.400 --> 0:25:39.639
<v Speaker 2>in Times Square, which all of our talent take that

0:25:39.680 --> 0:25:41.320
<v Speaker 2>moment and they take a picture and put it on

0:25:41.359 --> 0:25:43.840
<v Speaker 2>their socials and they get very excited about it, or

0:25:43.880 --> 0:25:47.080
<v Speaker 2>even just coming to New York and we do events

0:25:47.119 --> 0:25:50.240
<v Speaker 2>and we do screenings and some of them, believe it

0:25:50.320 --> 0:25:52.360
<v Speaker 2>or not, have never even been to New York City before.

0:25:52.440 --> 0:25:56.040
<v Speaker 2>And I think the relationship that we're developing back into

0:25:56.040 --> 0:26:01.080
<v Speaker 2>the British content ecosystem is a really competitive advantage for us.

0:26:01.160 --> 0:26:05.359
<v Speaker 2>We talk to every producer in that marketplace. Talent is

0:26:05.400 --> 0:26:08.200
<v Speaker 2>now coming to us and saying how can we work

0:26:08.200 --> 0:26:11.080
<v Speaker 2>with brick Box because they know that we get behind

0:26:11.119 --> 0:26:13.359
<v Speaker 2>our shows. We do everything we possibly can do to

0:26:13.400 --> 0:26:16.720
<v Speaker 2>get to get the word out there. And the value

0:26:16.800 --> 0:26:19.320
<v Speaker 2>of just being on a brick box show in the

0:26:19.400 --> 0:26:23.520
<v Speaker 2>UK marketplace, maybe once upon a time, and I'm speculating here,

0:26:23.920 --> 0:26:26.359
<v Speaker 2>we may have been thought of as a niche service.

0:26:26.400 --> 0:26:29.639
<v Speaker 2>You can understand why. But our aspiration is really to

0:26:29.680 --> 0:26:32.679
<v Speaker 2>be a main that specializes in distinctive programming from the

0:26:32.800 --> 0:26:38.320
<v Speaker 2>UK and as talent and producers recognize that we will

0:26:38.359 --> 0:26:41.240
<v Speaker 2>celebrate their content, we will get them talked about in

0:26:41.359 --> 0:26:45.880
<v Speaker 2>all the places where Prestige Television has talked about. They've

0:26:45.920 --> 0:26:47.800
<v Speaker 2>come to get very comfortable with us, and then we

0:26:47.840 --> 0:26:50.880
<v Speaker 2>make sure that when they are with us, both through

0:26:50.920 --> 0:26:53.400
<v Speaker 2>the production process as well as when we were out

0:26:53.440 --> 0:26:56.359
<v Speaker 2>there and yelling from the rooftops about the shows, they're

0:26:56.400 --> 0:26:59.040
<v Speaker 2>getting a first class experience with us. And so far,

0:26:59.200 --> 0:27:01.800
<v Speaker 2>I think that's penne that ends in the marketplace.

0:27:01.600 --> 0:27:04.400
<v Speaker 1>When you look at catering to your existing fan base

0:27:04.480 --> 0:27:06.640
<v Speaker 1>and keeping those people happy, and you know who those

0:27:06.680 --> 0:27:08.080
<v Speaker 1>people are and you want to be there for those

0:27:08.119 --> 0:27:11.040
<v Speaker 1>people versus also growth, how are you balancing that? Are

0:27:11.080 --> 0:27:13.879
<v Speaker 1>there different demographics you're looking at courting, are their younger

0:27:13.920 --> 0:27:15.120
<v Speaker 1>audiences you're looking at?

0:27:15.160 --> 0:27:17.760
<v Speaker 2>Sure, Well, look, we're in the same business as every

0:27:18.000 --> 0:27:20.639
<v Speaker 2>service in the sense that we think about acquisition and

0:27:20.680 --> 0:27:23.080
<v Speaker 2>we think about retention. Now it's amazing if we can

0:27:23.080 --> 0:27:25.800
<v Speaker 2>get a show that does both, that both brings new

0:27:25.800 --> 0:27:29.199
<v Speaker 2>audience in and entertains our existing audience. And we have

0:27:29.280 --> 0:27:31.879
<v Speaker 2>lots of shows that some shows are only going to

0:27:31.880 --> 0:27:34.720
<v Speaker 2>play to the acquisition. We may we may try to

0:27:34.800 --> 0:27:38.600
<v Speaker 2>operate a little bit outside of our existing audience base

0:27:39.040 --> 0:27:40.960
<v Speaker 2>so that we can lower that barrier to entry. I

0:27:41.040 --> 0:27:43.399
<v Speaker 2>call it an accessible on ramp, pick whatever turn of

0:27:43.480 --> 0:27:46.240
<v Speaker 2>phrase you want, but we want to for the person

0:27:46.240 --> 0:27:49.480
<v Speaker 2>who hasn't discovered yet that British television is for them.

0:27:49.680 --> 0:27:51.679
<v Speaker 2>We want to give them a reason to give us

0:27:51.680 --> 0:27:54.000
<v Speaker 2>a try. And we've done that through a marketing campaigns.

0:27:54.040 --> 0:27:58.400
<v Speaker 2>We launched a brand campaigns year that we called see

0:27:58.400 --> 0:28:01.160
<v Speaker 2>It Differently and it want to Clio. It was a

0:28:01.200 --> 0:28:04.560
<v Speaker 2>fourteen hour time lapse of someone who was playing the

0:28:04.640 --> 0:28:08.959
<v Speaker 2>role of a BritBox subscriber being converted into characters from

0:28:09.000 --> 0:28:12.320
<v Speaker 2>our different shows. And there's really I've actually never seen

0:28:12.359 --> 0:28:14.280
<v Speaker 2>anything like it before and when the team came to

0:28:14.320 --> 0:28:16.520
<v Speaker 2>me with that idea, I was like, yeah, let's do

0:28:16.600 --> 0:28:19.040
<v Speaker 2>something different. But what it challenged the team, what it

0:28:19.119 --> 0:28:21.879
<v Speaker 2>challenged audiences to do or potential audiences to do is

0:28:21.920 --> 0:28:25.480
<v Speaker 2>really to think of us differently, and you know, the

0:28:25.480 --> 0:28:27.840
<v Speaker 2>goal is to try to bring people in and give

0:28:28.240 --> 0:28:31.320
<v Speaker 2>and give us a try to our existing audience. The

0:28:31.400 --> 0:28:33.840
<v Speaker 2>job is to just keep feeding them the great programming

0:28:33.880 --> 0:28:38.120
<v Speaker 2>and bringing back our super brands and returning shows. And

0:28:38.280 --> 0:28:41.720
<v Speaker 2>we're heavily invested in that, whereas you know, on other

0:28:41.760 --> 0:28:44.800
<v Speaker 2>services you might expect to see a season or two

0:28:44.920 --> 0:28:49.719
<v Speaker 2>or three of very successful shows. We love the franchise.

0:28:49.840 --> 0:28:53.320
<v Speaker 2>We have Silent Witnesses in its twenty eighth season. We

0:28:53.440 --> 0:28:57.240
<v Speaker 2>have Death and Paradise and Shetland. These these series have

0:28:57.320 --> 0:29:01.640
<v Speaker 2>double digit seasons of television and audience has become accustomed

0:29:02.200 --> 0:29:05.080
<v Speaker 2>to coming back and key beats throughout the year. And

0:29:05.080 --> 0:29:07.960
<v Speaker 2>this is part of the value of Britboxes. It's not

0:29:08.120 --> 0:29:11.240
<v Speaker 2>just one show. It's you're here for the experience and

0:29:11.280 --> 0:29:13.440
<v Speaker 2>we're going to keep feeding you over the course of

0:29:13.480 --> 0:29:16.640
<v Speaker 2>a year incredible television shows. And the output of that

0:29:16.840 --> 0:29:20.880
<v Speaker 2>is that the majority of our subscribers on our direct

0:29:20.920 --> 0:29:24.520
<v Speaker 2>consumer platform are on annual plans. So what that tells

0:29:24.600 --> 0:29:27.720
<v Speaker 2>us and we keep leaning into that, and it's statistic

0:29:27.800 --> 0:29:30.760
<v Speaker 2>that I'm probably most proud of. It's our audience is

0:29:30.800 --> 0:29:33.800
<v Speaker 2>making a bet on BritBox for the entire year. They

0:29:33.920 --> 0:29:36.479
<v Speaker 2>know that we're going to keep delighting them, that we're

0:29:36.520 --> 0:29:39.320
<v Speaker 2>going to curate for them the best of British television.

0:29:39.360 --> 0:29:41.280
<v Speaker 2>They're not just show them up for one show. And

0:29:41.280 --> 0:29:43.920
<v Speaker 2>we're actually seeing that that number continue to increase and

0:29:44.040 --> 0:29:46.520
<v Speaker 2>Britbox's Premiere, which is only sold as an annual option,

0:29:46.640 --> 0:29:49.800
<v Speaker 2>that premium tier is helping that number as well. And

0:29:49.960 --> 0:29:52.160
<v Speaker 2>the job here is of course to keep the existing

0:29:52.160 --> 0:29:56.880
<v Speaker 2>audience base happy, we get the feedback that that's happening,

0:29:56.920 --> 0:29:59.640
<v Speaker 2>and then introducing BritBox to lots of new people who

0:29:59.760 --> 0:30:03.520
<v Speaker 2>are wise wouldn't necessarily know how great the content can

0:30:03.560 --> 0:30:05.080
<v Speaker 2>be on our British Content service.

0:30:05.520 --> 0:30:06.240
<v Speaker 3>Before we close.

0:30:06.280 --> 0:30:08.480
<v Speaker 1>I've looked to get your perspective on just in general,

0:30:08.520 --> 0:30:10.840
<v Speaker 1>looking at the industry, what people should be looking at

0:30:10.920 --> 0:30:13.239
<v Speaker 1>right now, What interesting trends that you're looking forward to

0:30:13.320 --> 0:30:16.000
<v Speaker 1>in twenty twenty s. Maybe just certain areas where you've

0:30:16.040 --> 0:30:18.680
<v Speaker 1>noticed growth or you're looking to growth that you want

0:30:18.720 --> 0:30:19.200
<v Speaker 1>to point out.

0:30:19.280 --> 0:30:22.080
<v Speaker 2>Well, it sounds a bit self serving. I think the

0:30:22.120 --> 0:30:25.920
<v Speaker 2>specialty service or the targeted services seems to be where

0:30:26.040 --> 0:30:29.520
<v Speaker 2>there's a lot of interest now we're talking because we

0:30:29.560 --> 0:30:31.600
<v Speaker 2>may not have had this conversation three years ago, and

0:30:31.680 --> 0:30:33.520
<v Speaker 2>we may not have been on your radar three years ago.

0:30:33.640 --> 0:30:39.200
<v Speaker 2>But as the broader services are getting broad, people are gravitating,

0:30:39.320 --> 0:30:43.760
<v Speaker 2>audiences are gravitating towards content that they feel very connected to.

0:30:44.360 --> 0:30:48.800
<v Speaker 2>And I think that's done very well in specialty services,

0:30:48.840 --> 0:30:52.160
<v Speaker 2>and whether it's services like ours or there are other

0:30:52.200 --> 0:30:56.360
<v Speaker 2>services that tackle other content verticals, to me, that's particularly exciting.

0:30:56.520 --> 0:30:59.040
<v Speaker 2>I have a stinking suspicion that you're going to see

0:30:59.040 --> 0:31:02.400
<v Speaker 2>some more of that happen name at the general entertainment level,

0:31:02.480 --> 0:31:05.920
<v Speaker 2>as some of the bigger services who've gone broad are

0:31:05.960 --> 0:31:08.320
<v Speaker 2>going to have to find identities. And that's something that

0:31:08.320 --> 0:31:10.480
<v Speaker 2>we think about a lot, is our identity in the

0:31:10.480 --> 0:31:15.120
<v Speaker 2>marketplace and what we stand for. And it's difficult as

0:31:15.160 --> 0:31:18.320
<v Speaker 2>a consumer to pin an identity broad identity on a

0:31:18.320 --> 0:31:21.480
<v Speaker 2>lot of the general services. They may mean something very

0:31:21.520 --> 0:31:25.160
<v Speaker 2>important to me, whether maybe it's a sport, certain sports

0:31:25.200 --> 0:31:28.760
<v Speaker 2>rights that they have, or it may be a show

0:31:28.800 --> 0:31:34.080
<v Speaker 2>that I really love. From a streaming or service wide identity,

0:31:34.680 --> 0:31:36.840
<v Speaker 2>I don't know if that really exists out there, but

0:31:37.280 --> 0:31:40.080
<v Speaker 2>we're in that business. And the reason I'm here and

0:31:40.080 --> 0:31:42.760
<v Speaker 2>I continue to be excited and motivated every day. And

0:31:42.800 --> 0:31:46.600
<v Speaker 2>why my team I've been able to build this organization

0:31:46.680 --> 0:31:48.959
<v Speaker 2>and we've been able to come together and bring in

0:31:49.000 --> 0:31:52.360
<v Speaker 2>people who've worked for all the major streaming services, who

0:31:52.400 --> 0:31:56.160
<v Speaker 2>are super dedicated on building something that can connect with audiences.

0:31:57.000 --> 0:31:59.000
<v Speaker 2>Why they're motivated to come in every day. It's all

0:31:59.040 --> 0:32:02.120
<v Speaker 2>about that direct relationship that we can have with the consumer.

0:32:02.240 --> 0:32:04.920
<v Speaker 2>So that's the thing that motivates me. That's the thing

0:32:04.960 --> 0:32:08.120
<v Speaker 2>I'm excited about. I suspect you're going to see more

0:32:08.160 --> 0:32:10.840
<v Speaker 2>of that happening and more experimentation about how to go

0:32:11.000 --> 0:32:12.800
<v Speaker 2>deeper with specific audience segments.

0:32:13.080 --> 0:32:16.080
<v Speaker 1>Speaking about the success of Linley, I believe you guys

0:32:16.080 --> 0:32:17.600
<v Speaker 1>have already picked that up for a second season.

0:32:17.920 --> 0:32:20.840
<v Speaker 2>Yes, yeah, I was super excited about that. This is

0:32:20.880 --> 0:32:24.200
<v Speaker 2>a show that we believed in and bought into in

0:32:24.200 --> 0:32:27.480
<v Speaker 2>the very early phase and very rare for us to

0:32:27.520 --> 0:32:29.960
<v Speaker 2>think about picking up a show and commissioning a show

0:32:30.000 --> 0:32:33.640
<v Speaker 2>when there isn't a UK broadcaster associated with them. So

0:32:33.720 --> 0:32:37.320
<v Speaker 2>successful for us. You know, we really do see ourselves

0:32:37.400 --> 0:32:40.360
<v Speaker 2>in a way as ambassadors in British culture. You really

0:32:40.360 --> 0:32:43.240
<v Speaker 2>do believe that we are the primary route to market

0:32:43.480 --> 0:32:47.880
<v Speaker 2>for British television into the US and North American marketplace.

0:32:48.200 --> 0:32:50.040
<v Speaker 2>We say what we are on the ten as the

0:32:50.040 --> 0:32:52.360
<v Speaker 2>Brits would say we are brick Box. There's really no

0:32:52.480 --> 0:32:55.960
<v Speaker 2>other streaming service that says exactly who they are, So

0:32:56.000 --> 0:32:59.720
<v Speaker 2>we do owe hot, we do owe a responsibility to

0:32:59.760 --> 0:33:03.280
<v Speaker 2>that content, be that ambassador, to be that bridge between

0:33:03.520 --> 0:33:07.080
<v Speaker 2>British television and the audiences that love it today but

0:33:07.120 --> 0:33:10.200
<v Speaker 2>also we'll love it in the future, and it's a

0:33:10.280 --> 0:33:11.640
<v Speaker 2>role that we take very seriously.

0:33:18.000 --> 0:33:20.120
<v Speaker 1>Thank you for joining us for this week's episode of

0:33:20.160 --> 0:33:23.800
<v Speaker 1>Variety Strictly Business. You can find new episodes weekly on

0:33:23.880 --> 0:33:28.680
<v Speaker 1>Apple Podcasts, recently promoted to BBC Studios Direct to Consumers,

0:33:28.720 --> 0:33:32.479
<v Speaker 1>CEO Robert Schildehouse has spent the past few years building

0:33:32.560 --> 0:33:34.400
<v Speaker 1>up the platform's original programming