Marcus Arthur tells Deadline about strolling a tightrope in a streaming-driven world the place linear stays an enormous income generator.
Arthur runs an enormous and complex enterprise. Having been promoted from CEO of the UKTV channel group to managing director of world channels and streaming at BBC Studios, he faces an enormous problem. Positioning the industrial arm of the century-old BBC for a streaming future whereas managing conventional linear channels that also do huge enterprise in lots of worldwide territories.
“Streaming is certainly our future, and constructing a streaming-first future is completely paramount,” Arthur says. “However linear continues to be extraordinarily essential proper now to the income that corporations make and can make over the following 5 to 10 years. The artwork is that tight management between constructing a streaming future, whereas making an attempt to maximise the advantages of enormous linear corporations.”
BBC Studios has an enormous catalog of reveals that it sells all around the world – it was introduced into MIPCOM with an excellent Dancing with the celebs spin-off – however its channels and streaming enterprise stay a big income, with revenues of £788 million ($1.1 billion) for the 2025/26 monetary yr.
Arthur’s portfolio consists of digital channels and providers spanning linear pay TV networks, ad-supported branded channels, direct-to-consumer providers and UK SVoD streamer BritBox Worldwide is within the combine, with Arthur overseeing it exterior of North America.
“The problem for broadcasters is that the brand new [streaming] the paradigm just isn’t created in a single day. It takes time to develop your digital providers and your market entry,” he says. “And on a regular basis you make investments [in streaming]you continue to must maintain your linear companies heat. You aren’t getting a free kick. You have to do each.
BBC Studios is not beholden to shareholders in the identical means an organization like Comcast is, which cut up up its legacy channels and streaming companies. Arthur says these developments have contributed to a story that does not all the time acknowledge the worth of the linear.
“Folks do not all the time understand that there’s nonetheless linear development in nations like South Africa, or that you could nonetheless enhance your linear share in Poland and different markets that we’re in, like Turkey, as a result of they’ve heard about a number of the huge broadcasters who’ve determined to bifurcate their linear and streaming companies. There may be an equally lengthy listing of people that have determined to maintain these property collectively, whether or not it’s Fox, ITV or AMC.
“The businesses that determine to maintain them collectively are people who imagine they’ll nonetheless profit from these linear points of their enterprise for a very long time for his or her future profitability, and most of them use these income to put money into the digital facet. »
With an assortment of channels, there’ll all the time be changes and model modifications. Drama community BBC First is one instance: it was rebranded as BBC Belgium within the European nation and there has since been a slight enhance in viewership with a launch line-up that included the likes of wild cherry, Foyle’s Struggle And Name the midwife. This title change follows the same transfer within the Netherlands, the place BBC First was renamed BBC NL.
Main actor
Final yr, BBC Studios partnered with CosmoBlue to distribute channels and launch a brand new common leisure community within the Center East, North Africa and Turkey areas. A part of the deal additionally included integrating the BBC Participant service into the CosmoGO streaming app.
BBC Participant’s on-demand providers can bridge the normal and the brand new, offering a streaming service that may sit alongside common channels.
“We elevated this to 21 merchandise in EMEA,” explains Arthur. “We have taken the enterprise of the prevailing channels and mixed it with the perfect digital product. Once we discuss to the paid platforms that we have now relationships with, we’re now speaking to them a couple of linear enterprise that has a really robust digital future.”
BBC Participant is multi-genre, together with drama, and there may be additionally the script-focused BritBox service. In keeping with the plethora of enterprise fashions inside the BBC’s studio channels and streaming sector, BritBox operates as a direct-to-consumer SVoD proposition in Australia, whereas it operates along side regional pay-TV platforms within the Nordics.
Elsewhere, BBC Studios-owned UKTV channel group struck a deal final yr to launch content material from its ‘U’-branded on-demand service on Channel 4’s streaming platform. This implies Channel 4 has bolstered its streaming providing with UKTV applications together with Bergerac reboot, in addition to basic BBC reveals broadcast on UKTV channels, together with The workplace And Purple dwarf.
Arthur affords a progress report: “We have had very wholesome development and we have managed to not cannibalize our standalone service. This deal was nice for Channel 4 as a result of it obtained some actually good content material from the BBC, archives and originals from UKTV. For UKTV it took us onto a platform that’s inherently youthful and uncovered us to an entire bunch of recent individuals.”
FAST FACTS
Free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) is a great technique to get probably the most out of an enormous catalog and BBC Studios launches channels usually. Arthur tells us he’s about to launch a set of recent channels within the UK, linked to some big-ticket manufacturers.
The providers will carry UKTV’s aforementioned U model, with Increased velocity on you, EastEnders on you and Antiques crawl on U amongst eight launches.
“You may take a look at and be taught with FAST,” Arthur explains. “You may create chains and see in the event that they develop, then transfer and alter.”
In EMEA, BBC Studios mentioned its FAST channels noticed 53.6 million hours considered within the first seven months of this yr, a rise of greater than 50% year-on-year.
FAST also can fill the gaps the place BBC Studios doesn’t have providers. “They have been exceptionally profitable for us the place we do not have huge paid offers or our personal channels. It is a very efficient technique to get into markets.”
BBC Studios
Constitution for change
Exterior of the industrial studio sector, the BBC tv community is making spectacular cuts. For BBC Studios, the knock-on impact is a higher recognition of the significance of the cash it brings in to the general public service mothership.
BBC Studios argued that UK rules put its operations at an obstacle in comparison with worldwide sector friends. One bone of rivalry is the borrowing cap, which is able to rise to £750 million ($1 billion) in 2027.
“We have now a very good monitor report, when we have now funds, of spending them effectively and getting returns, however whether or not we’ll get additional cash underneath the Constitution relies on the federal government and [BBC director general] Matt Brittin,” Arthur mentioned.
For subsequent yr, Arthur says the BBC iPlayer service can be modernized when it comes to feel and look. And, in fact, its channels and streaming division must earn cash.
“We have to enhance our earnings,” he mentioned. “Even though promoting within the UK will be extraordinarily tough, I need to enhance our income in EMEA. I need to enhance our income in APAC and our income in Australia and New Zealand.
“We wish this to be a rising firm and present that we have now issues in place that may make this a actuality,” he continues. “I do not need to simply run companies the place revenues are steady and all you do is take a look at prices. I imply, life is just too brief.”