BBC Three to premiere new shows on iPlayer
In a sign of the times, BBC Three announced this week that the second series of Jack Whitehall's Bad Education will air on its mobile iPlayer about a week before it airs on TV. Other scripted comedy programs from BBC Three will also follow the same format.
BBC reported yesterday:
Kicking off with the second series of Jack Whitehall's Bad Education, viewers will be able to enjoy their favourite BBC Three scripted comedies on BBC iPlayer seven days before they are broadcast on TV. With BBC iPlayer now available on over 650 devices and platforms, this gives viewers even more chance to catch their favourite programme whenever and wherever they want to – at home, at work, or on the go.
Today's announcement builds on BBC iPlayer's strategy to experiment and showcase more content within the service in 2013. In February, the BBC announced a separate trial which will see it premiere 40 hours of programming from other BBC channels on iPlayer - including Peter Kay's Car Share. And, earlier this month, BBC Three launched its latest batch of Comedy Feeds available to audiences exclusively via BBC iPlayer.
It appears that we're transitioning from a dynamic where aired television episodes are quickly made available online to a situation where some shows are being released online first. The success of Arrested Development and House of Cards on Netflix further demonstrates this shift. What's more, the BBC this past March commissioned the development of an original dramatic Television series slated to air exclusively on iPlayer.
