BBC Studios Launches First Kids Streamer In Korea
BBC Studios has launched a streamer for children’s TV in Korea for the first time. The BBC Kids platform will feature the likes of Hey Duggee, Andy’s Global Adventures and Go Jetters. It will be available as a monthly subscription service on Genie TV Kids Land, a Korean IPTV service for young children, in collaboration with KT. The service will feature a mix of content in English language as well as a variety of popular titles dubbed into Korean for the very first time. It comes as the BBC places more stress on exploiting commercial outside of the UK. BBC Studios recently bought out BritBox International from ITV. It already operates kids streamers in Australia, Taiwan, South Africa and India, along with a U.S. FAST channel. “The BBC has been educating, informing and entertaining the world for over 100 years and BBC Kids continues our commitment to fostering early childhood development through this engaging and enriching content designed specifically for children,” said Phil Hardman, SVP and General Manager, BBC Studios Asia.
Viaplay Ties With John De Mol‘s Talpa & Completes UK Biz Sale
Viaplay Group has entered into a linear partnership with John de Mol’s Talpa Network in the Netherlands and completed the sale of its UK business. Starting April 5, Talpa Network’s SBS9 linear TV channel will be rebranded as Viaplay TV, and will show selected content from the Viaplay streaming service’s portfolio of premium sports. Viaplay TV’s first live broadcast will be the second free practice session for the Japanese Grand Prix, featuring superstar Dutch driver Max Verstappen. In addition to selected live sports and reruns from Viaplay, Viaplay TV will feature Dutch and international series and films from Talpa Network’s entertainment offering. “Talpa Network is a well-established Dutch player with outstanding reach,” said Peter Nørrelund, Viaplay Group EVP and Chief Sports & Business Development Officer. “This partnership will showcase Viaplay’s premium sports portfolio, which is the most attractive and relevant anywhere in the Netherlands.” The move is reflective of Scandi outfit Viaplay’s new strategy to focus on core markets following an incredibly difficult 2023, during which around 30% of staffers were laid off. It comes as the sale of its UK business back to Premier Sports completes, having received final clearance from the Irish authorities. Last week, CEO Jørgen Madsen Lindemann vowed that the company will “be different” following huge 2023 losses, although turnover did increase. He said the “complexity of exiting” Viaplay’s non-core international markets was holding up several commercial deals and led to higher than expected losses.