BBC Worldwide is to add content from The Mighty Boosh, Robin Hood and Top Gear to the MySpace website following a major agreement with the social networking platform. The agreement with the BBC’s commercial arm is the first of its type between MySpaceTV and a major broadcaster. The corporation already runs a number of channels on the YouTube video sharing website.
From today (January 24) BBC current and archived content will be made available globally from the MySpace site. According to BBC Worldwide, “users will be able to visit and subscribe to the BBC Worldwide’s MySpaceTV video channel in order to view, embed and virally share BBC content across the MySpace community.”
BBC Worldwide and other broadcasters are prepared to release clips from their key shows in the hope that this will ultimately drive the internet-savvy audiences either to linear TV channels or to their download services. In addition to international programme sales BBC Worldwide has plans for an international version of the iPlayer. It will also be able to drive usage of the proposed Kangaroo online venture with ITV and Channel 4.