Looking to up its mojo as both a distributor and producer of original programing, the BBC Group April 4 re-launched BBC Studios following its merger last November with BBC Worldwide.
The revamped studio will see content through the full life cycle of development, commissioning, production and co-production, sales and distribution and will underpin the creation of new BBC-owned intellectual property.
Headed by CEO Tim Davie and Mark Linsey, chief creative officer, BBC Studios fields a 3,000-person workforce and budget of more than $1.9 billion. It is eyeing global co-production opportunities in Australia and China, recently opening offices in Sydney and Beijing, respectively.
Executive producer Matthew Springford will be based at the BBC office in Beijing along with the BBC Studios’ distribution team working with Chinese TV stations and digital platforms to co-develop and co-produce original content and new formats across all genres.
“BBC Studios exists to inspire audiences globally, strengthening the BBC financially and creatively, working with the very best British talent … in this new age of content,” Davie said in a statement.
No small task in the age of Netflix, which employs 5,400 people and is spending $8 billion on content in 2018, including about 700 TV shows and movies — much of it British-based.