BBC Worldwide, MySpace Form Global Content Partnership

MySpaceTV to Offer New, Archived Short-Form Content from British Broadcasting Corp.

By Alex Weprin -- Broadcasting & Cable, 1/24/2008 11:56:00 AM

BBC Worldwide, the commercial arm of the British Broadcasting Corp., is forming a content partnership with News Corp.-owned MySpace.

The agreement will bring new and archived short-form BBC content to MySpaceTV, the social-networking site’s video service.

The agreement is the first global partnership signed between MySpace and a broadcaster, allowing for BBC videos to be viewed worldwide.

“MySpace is recognized as the largest social-networking site, and this partnership continues our strategy of putting BBC content right at the heart of where audiences spend their time and watch video online,” said Simon Danker, director of digital media for BBC Worldwide, in a statement.

“The breadth of content we bring to this deal means that MySpace users will easily be able to find a favorite clip to put on their profiles and share with their friends, whether that is a Top Gear stunt or something a bit different from The Mighty Boosh,” he added. “With the global nature of the deal, this is a great opportunity to put the best shows from the BBC in front of new audiences."

MySpace users will be able to subscribe to the BBC’s MySpaceTV channel and share videos with friends by embedding them in their profiles.

Among the shows that will be available on the channel are Top Gear, Doctor Who and clips from David Attenborough’s natural-history series.

The move comes as the BBC looks to expand its presence outside of Britain. BBC Worldwide produces a number of shows in the United States, including popular reality series Dancing with the Stars on ABC and the recently announced American remake of Top Gear, set to debut on NBC.

MySpace executive vice president of marketing and content Jeff Berman stressed the global nature of the BBC’s deal: “Shows like Top Gear and Doctor Who are enormous hits whether you live near the white cliffs of Dover or in Dover, Del.,” he said. “This is MySpaceTV's first global network deal and it reflects a fast-approaching Internet future defined by co-operation between corporations and the portability of content across new and traditional networks.”