BBC Studios looks to expand content and distribution in India

➤ BBC Studios is looking to bring its free ad-supported channels to India in 2022, says Senior Vice President and General Manager for Asia, Phil Hardman.

➤ A large English-speaking population and the growing popularity of remote learning makes India a potential market for the BBC's children's entertainment and education content.

➤ The company wants to form more distribution partnerships with local TV and streaming providers, although Hardman would not rule out launching a standalone platform in future.

The BBC has not had an easy start to the year, with the U.K. government freezing its license fees for two years. As the political battle over the broadcaster's funding continues at home, its production and distribution arm, BBC Studios Ltd., is not wasting any time in expanding its presence abroad.

Having launched its free linear ad-supported streaming channels, or FASTs, in the U.S. and Europe in 2021, BBC Studios is now looking at rolling out the service in Asia-Pacific. It already has a presence in India via the Walt Disney Co.'s Disney+ Hotstar, Netflix Inc., Hungama Play, Voot, Lionsgate Play and Sony Entertainment Inc., seeing success with dramas including "Criminal Justice" and "Doctor Foster." It also has a production partnership with the U.K.'s ITV Studios Ltd. to adapt popular ITV shows for Indian audiences.

BBC Studios' Senior Vice President and General Manager for Asia, Phil Hardman, tells S&P Global Market Intelligence that there is a lot more the company wants to do in India as it explores new ways of bringing content to audiences around the world. What follows is an interview that has been edited for length and clarity.

S&P Global Market Intelligence: What does BBC Studios' presence in India currently look like?

Phil Hardman: There are some dynamics in India that act as a microcosm of the Asian landscape. For example, there are big players like Disney+ Hotstar, Netflix and Amazon.com Inc.'s Prime Video alongside smaller, local ones. There is M&A activity with the Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. and Sony Pictures Networks India Pvt. Ltd. merger underway; all of which we are seeing on a global scale too. There is certainly a large audience for U.K. produced English language content that is doing well including our BBC Earth content, which is getting lots of views on our YouTube channel. We are also present in India through World Service and World News, which have over 65 million viewers every week. Now it is more about deepening these existing relationships.

Post-merger, Sony and Zee stands to overtake Disney to become the biggest TV network in India. Will BBC Studios India Private Ltd. be impacted by this shift, given that it has a joint venture with Sony Entertainment?

It is early days still. Our jointly owned TV channel Sony BBC Earth is doing well so I hope to find a way, following the merger, to partner with Sony-Zee and expand that relationship.

You have distribution partnerships with several online TV players in India. Do you plan to add more?

We have some exciting conversations with local platforms in India that we cannot reveal too much about. We will start small because they are very focused on regional, Indian content.

HBO Max is reportedly coming to India in 2022. Will BBC Studios look to host content on its platform?

We have a relationship with [its parent company] Warner Media LLC so I would like to think we can have a big relationship with HBO Max too as it is a good opportunity to work together.

Are there any plans to launch a standalone BBC platform in India?

We already operate BBC World News and CBeebies channels and partner with Sony to bring BBC Earth to India. We do not currently have a BBC Studios video-on-demand or subscription VOD platform in India, however we are constantly appraising the different routes to market and are always looking out for the opportune time to launch a service that best fits our audience and the market.

What content do you plan to bring to India next?

I want to explore education and children's entertainment. The BBC already has a huge library of English-language educational content and during the pandemic we stepped up our offering in this area in the U.K. India is a good market for this content because there is a big English-speaking population, and now we are seeing a shift to a hybrid model of education where content is delivered remotely. Key shows on CBeebies like "Hey Duggee" and "Bluey" are good examples of this. We would use distribution platforms like Disney+ Hotstar for this content.

The other area we are interested in exploring in India is podcasts.

Are there any emerging consumer trends that you could look to capitalize on in India?

India would be an interesting market to explore FAST channels. We are already seeing success in FAST channels in the Americas and Europe where we have multiple titles in the market including "Classic Doctor Who", "Antiques Roadshow", and channels BBC Drama, BBC Food and BBC Kids.

It is not big in Asia yet, but we see companies like Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. as possible connected TV manufacturers. [BBC FAST channels launched on Samsung devices in Europe, and via Pluto in the U.S.] India has potential for FAST TV platforms because connectivity and internet speeds are improving, and consumers are less worried about whether content is delivered through linear or digital platforms.

What kind of FAST channels will BBC Studios bring to India and when would be a good time to roll it out?

It would make sense for us to look at the existing FAST channels portfolio which we know have a global audience first, but that does not mean we wouldn't also look at channels specifically for the Indian market in time. We would look at bringing a mix of genres through FAST channels – we know that our drama, lifestyle, children's and factual content all have an audience in India and we would likely start there.

We are in active discussions with partners and would hope, all being well, to bring FAST channels to India in 2022.