Lord Tony Hall said the television industry is about to enter ‘a second wave of disruption’ because of new entrants in the streaming market.
- Commentators have argued that BBC will only lose ground with younger people
- Newcomers such as Disney and Apple are likely to impact established platforms
- But Lord Hall said it will be an opportunity for BBC to offer an even better service
The BBC director-general said the main impact of newcomers such as Disney and Apple could be on established services such as Amazon and Netflix.
He said: ‘Our industry is about to enter a second wave of disruption.
‘The first was about the rise of Netflix, Amazon and Spotify: market shapers that fundamentally changed audience behaviour, often at the cost of huge losses or massive cross-subsidy.
‘The second wave will see a range of new entrants entering an already crowded market.
‘We saw it last week as Apple announced their new subscription service. Disney, Hulu and others are to follow.
‘This is, of course, great for audiences. Possibly.’
He added that the libraries of Amazon and Netflix are ‘likely to shrink, as programme-makers pull their content away from these services to place them on their own’.
‘The established streamers will need to fight harder to offer the value they currently give today.’
Speaking at the Royal Television Society convention in Cambridge, Lord Hall is likely to argue that rather than being a threat, this ‘second wave of disruption’ will actually prove to be an opportunity for the BBC to offer an even better service to the public.
Despite commentators who have argued that BBC will only lose ground with younger people Lord Hall will say that the company has the capability to add a host of new features to its services including iPlayer and BBC Sounds.
He said: ‘In this market, services that are distinctive and different will stand out.
‘And two vital things make us different.
‘Firstly, we have a unique mission and purpose, all audiences – young and old – believe in it.
‘Purpose and values matter today more than ever, as people pick and choose services for ethical reasons as much as economic ones.
‘Secondly, no one offers the range of content, in so many genres, on so many platforms, as the BBC.
‘We’re not Netflix, we’re not Spotify. We’re not Apple News.
‘We’re so much more than all of them put together.
‘In the space of a year iPlayer’s reach to young audiences is up by a third.
‘There is really promising growth right across the piece.
‘And that’s before we roll out our full plans for extended availability and exclusive content.’
He said BBC Sounds is reaching nearly two million users a week, just one year on from its launch.
The Royal Television Society convention will take place from September 18 to 20.