Alex Barker in the (paywalled) FT suggests the BBC needs to galvanise itself into a global paywalled streamer, as part of the current negotiations around the licence fee.
He echoes a widely-held yet totally unsubstantiated belief amongst the BBC's Conservative opponents that The World should pay for the BBC, enabling the UK to get it free. Obvs.
Currently, the BBC is dipping its toes in this water with Britbox and BBC Select. Britbox is largely focused on drama and comedy; in the UK, it's 90% owned by ITV, and probably has just under a million subscribers, some of whom are on lead-in deals via BT and others. Globally, it's a 50/50 venture, and reports 1.5m US subscribers. BBC Select, a service 'conceptualised' by BBC Studios Jon Farrar, is groovy news and current affairs aimed at the USA, and Mr Farrar is tightlipped on progress: "The subscriber projections are commercially sensitive information."
Former Goldman Sachs banker Richard Sharp, now self-defined as BBC executive chairman, clearly is taking an interest in this one. Perhaps he regards it as 'obvs' as well.
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