The BBC is being criticised for buying the rights to existing US titles rather than spending money on British talent.
BBC bosses have come under fire for spending millions of pounds of licence fee money on Hollywood shows.
The tactic of buying US titles, such as teen drama Pretty Little Liars and movies like Pirates of the Caribbean, has been described by commercial rivals as a “cynical and expensive” way to attract young people to iPlayer.
One source from a commercial broadcaster said: “Why don’t they spend the money on British content? They are throwing cash at the American studios.
“The BBC is acting like a commercial broadcaster in the way it is dealing with the Hollywood studios. That, surely, is not its role.”
BBC iPlayer had more than five billion programme requests last year – up more than 850 million on 2019. But the Corporation said the annual spend on acquisitions was less than 5% of the £1.6billion public service content spend – around £80million.
The BBC added it had a “rich history” of acquiring TV shows from around the world.
A spokesman said: “The brilliant range of box sets available on BBC iPlayer delivers more value to all audiences by bringing our content into one place.”
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