Lord Hall, director general of the BBC, has said the Corporation’s partnership with ITV on ‘British Netflix’ BritBox supports the whole public service broadcasting ecology.
He told the Media and Telecoms Conference that for him, BritBox is “another reminder of just how central a role the PSBs play as the engine-room of our creative economy. Businesses have been built on those foundations. Exports around the world are built on that creative strength. PSB values and purposes infuse the whole system.”
During a wide-ranging speech about the BBC and the future of TV, Hall said both the BBC and ITV hope others will also come on board. ITV CEO Carolyn McCall expressed the same sentiment during her own speech stating, “Channel 4 will be in, in one way or another.”
McCall went on to tell the audience that BritBox would not be competing directly with Netflix, but would be “complementary”. She also announced “many thousands” have already registered for the service.