BBC director general Tony Hall is to argue that the television industry is about to enter “a second wave of disruption” as companies like Apple and Disney enter the SVOD market and that the BBC can benefit from the fallout.
 

Hall will make the comments during his speech at the RTS Convention in Cambridge this week.

 

Hall will say that “our industry is about to enter a second wave of disruption. The first was about the rise of Netflix, Amazon and Spotify: market shapers that fundamentally changed audience behaviour, often at the cost of huge losses or massive cross-subsidy.

 

“The second wave will see a range of new entrants entering an already crowded market. We saw it last week as Apple announced their new subscription service. Disney, Hulu and others are to follow. This is, of course, great for audiences. Possibly.”

 

Hall will say that the established SVODs could suffer “as programme-makers pull their content away from these services to place them on their own”

 

And that will mean “the established streamers will need to fight harder to offer the value they currently give today” when large chunks of their current offering reverts back to the content owners to put on other services.

 

Hall will say this landscape will benefit the BBC who “will ride the second wave of disruption” and make its own streaming services, iPlayer and BBC Sounds, stronger.

 

“In this market, services that are distinctive and different will stand out. And two vital things make us different. Firstly, we have a unique mission and purpose, all audiences – young and old – believe in it.

 

“Purpose and values matter today more than ever, as people pick and choose services for ethical reasons as much as economic ones. Secondly, no one offers the range of content, in so many genres, on so many platforms, as the BBC.”

 

Staff Reporter

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