Mumbai: BBC Worldwide, the commercial arm of the BBC, and MySpace, the world’s largest social networking platform, announced the launch of a ground-breaking partnership to bring new and archived short form BBC content to MySpaceTV ( http://www.myspacetv.com). The announcement marks the first global agreement of this type between MySpaceTV and a major broadcaster.
Under the partnership, the best BBC video content will be made available online globally via MySpaceTV, the social networking site’s popular new video platform. MySpace users will be able to visit and subscribe to the BBC Worldwide’s MySpaceTV video channel in order to view, embed and virally share BBC content across the MySpace community.
Under the deal, current and archived video content from BBC Worldwide programmes will be available on MySpaceTV including some classic moments in TV: Robbie Williams and Russell Crowe being interviewed by Parkinson, Jeremy Clarkson and his team on Top Gear and some breathtaking clips from David Attenborough’s natural history series. Also available will be some gripping moments from classic series such as Doctor Who, Robin Hood and Torchwood in addition to some hilarious sketches from The Catherine Tate show, Red Dwarf and The Mighty Boosh.
BBC Worldwide director digital media Simon Danker said, “MySpace is recognised as the largest social networking site and this partnership continues our strategy of putting BBC content right at the heart of where audiences spend their time and watch video online. The breadth of content we bring to this deal means that MySpace users will easily be able to find a favourite clip to put on their profiles and share with their friends, whether that is a Top Gear stunt or something a bit different from The Mighty Boosh. With the global nature of the deal, this is a great opportunity to put the best shows from the BBC in front of new audiences.”
BBC Worldwide content will be immediately available across MySpace’s 23 regions with nearly 110 million global active users. Localized versions of MySpaceTV are available in thirteen different languages across the UK, Japan, Australia, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Spain, Mexico, Canada, Netherlands, New Zealand, Latin America, Switzerland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Austria, and Brazil.
The deal represents a further move by BBC Worldwide, the BBC’s commercial arm, to broaden the reach of its content to new channels and outlets, to engage with audiences around the world and to promote content which will be available on Kangaroo1 in the UK and BBC Worldwide’s commercial media player internationally.
“Shows like Top Gear and Doctor Who are enormous hits whether you live near the white cliffs of Dover or in Dover, Delaware,” said MySpace EVP of marketing and content Jeff Berman. “This is MySpaceTV’s first global network deal and it reflects a fast-approaching Internet future defined by co-operation between corporations and the portability of content across new and traditional networks.”
