The BBCââ¬â¢s commercial arm is to begin selling access episodes of Doctor Who to viewers outside Britain via Facebook, in a first for a broadcaster.
The move comes as the dominant social network is poised to become a major player in the market for films and TV online.
From this week Facebook users in Europe, the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand will be offered 29 Doctor Who episodes from the 1960s to the 2000s for rent, for 48 hours at a time. Each story, sometimes originally broadcast more than one episode, will cost 15 Facebook credits, or just under ã1.
The most recent series, featuring Matt Smith as the Time Lord, will not be available at launch, however.
BBC Worldwide also plans to exploit other popular shows on Facebook, including Top Gear, which already has 12 million fans on the site.
Facebook is moving into video distribution after creating a new market in videogames by serving up casual gaming hits such as FarmVille to millions. As the first broadcaster to rent its shows via the website, the BBC is following Warner Bros, which began offering films such as Inception in March.
Rest of article: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/8632933/BBC-offers-Doctor-Who-episodes-on-Facebook.html
The move comes as the dominant social network is poised to become a major player in the market for films and TV online.
From this week Facebook users in Europe, the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand will be offered 29 Doctor Who episodes from the 1960s to the 2000s for rent, for 48 hours at a time. Each story, sometimes originally broadcast more than one episode, will cost 15 Facebook credits, or just under ã1.
The most recent series, featuring Matt Smith as the Time Lord, will not be available at launch, however.
BBC Worldwide also plans to exploit other popular shows on Facebook, including Top Gear, which already has 12 million fans on the site.
Facebook is moving into video distribution after creating a new market in videogames by serving up casual gaming hits such as FarmVille to millions. As the first broadcaster to rent its shows via the website, the BBC is following Warner Bros, which began offering films such as Inception in March.
Rest of article: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/8632933/BBC-offers-Doctor-Who-episodes-on-Facebook.html
