{"id":441877,"date":"2026-02-23T21:56:12","date_gmt":"2026-02-23T21:56:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/441877\/"},"modified":"2026-02-23T21:56:12","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T21:56:12","slug":"bbc-studios-fussell-talks-bluey-microdrama-netflix-warner-deal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/441877\/","title":{"rendered":"BBC Studios’ Fussell Talks ‘Bluey’, Microdrama & Netflix-Warner Deal"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tBBC Studios<\/a> is eyeing growth in the international streaming space and acquisitions could be incoming, its CEO said today. <\/p>\n

\n\tSpeaking to press at the BBC Studios Showcase<\/a>, Tom Fussell<\/a> spoke of \u201copportunities for inorganic growth\u201d that could be incoming akin to its full acquisition of BritBox International from ITV Studios two years back.<\/p>\n

\n\tIn a wide-ranging chat to press at the Showcase, Fussell and BBC Studios global content boss Zai Bennett<\/a> also addressed the Netflix-Warner-Paramount deal, microdrama and the continued success of Bluey<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThere are opportunities for inorganic growth in streaming across genres,\u201d said Fussell. \u201cI think we have a right as the home of British streaming to grow that even further. You [the press] will be the first to read about it and get briefed on it when it does happen, although these opportunities do take time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tFussell pointed out that the BritBox buy was two years ago and the acquisition of channel group UKTV was a few years before that, hinting that now could be the time for the next one.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWe have a very good, high-powered board of directors who advise us on these things,\u201d said Fussell, who praised BBC Studios chair Damon Buffini for providing experience in the M&A space, although Buffini\u2019s term is about to end.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThe oppportunities are there, whether you can always find a willing buyer and willing seller at the same time, well that\u2019s the trick,\u201d said Fussell. <\/p>\n

\n\tBBC Studios runs BritBox in North America and several other territories along with documentary streamer BBC Select. Streaming and direct-to-consumer has become a crucial cog in its machine as returns to the BBC public purse have become ever more important.<\/p>\n

\n\tFussell was asked for his view on the big M&A story of the year, Netflix-Warners. He said mega consolidation is reflective of how \u201cmarket growth going forwards is not going to be anything like the five years prior to peak TV.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWhen you start seeing rumors upon rumors about takeovers and consolidation, that normally is testament to the fact there isn\u2019t huge amounts of growth in the market, because everyone\u2019s looking for synergies,\u201d he added. \u201cBut we know where we want to be investing in the global expansion of our studio to increase the scale of our streaming in the States, and to work with partners and develop more IP.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\tDeficit financing from BBC Studios had been a vital part of the BBC\u2019s attempt to overcome the co-pro crisis that hit scripted when Americans stopped funding British high-end drama after the labor strikes. Speaking to Deadline this morning, BBC drama boss Lindsay Salt said the corporation has now \u201cweathered that storm\u201d <\/a>and Bennett concurred several hours later, saying there are \u201cgreen shoots\u201d leading to a \u201cnew normal\u201d and pointing to more co-pro money from big American players like Paramount.<\/p>\n

\n\tFussell said this \u201cnew normal\u201d comes at a crucial time, with new CEOs at Channel 4 and Paramount-owned Channel 5. \u201cPublic Service broadcasters are unique because they\u2019re really venture capital for the UK,\u201d he added. \u201cThey don\u2019t own the rights. The producers own the rights. They can export those things and create jobs around the UK.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tFussell called for improvements to tax credits, which many across the entertainment sector have been urging for the past couple of years.<\/p>\n

\n\tDistribution on YouTube is a major talking point at the Showcase and London TV Screenings<\/a> this week and the BBC just struck a landmark deal with the platform.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cEveryone needs a strategy to be on ad-funded platforms and YouTube is the biggest,\u201d added Fussell. \u201cWe\u2019re very clear with ours and the BBC group itself is now clear with what it wants to do.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\tFussell rejected the notion that putting more content on YouTube will be a turn-off for producers who want to exploit their rights.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWe\u2019ve always been windowing content, geoblocking if we need to to respect rights holders,\u201d he said. \u201cSo I think that\u2019s in the DNA of this organization. You work out all those different windows and where things are best monetized.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tFussell pointed out that BBC Studios has been leveraging YouTube for years and channels like Bluey, its most valuable property, now has more than 20 million followers across platforms.<\/p>\n

\n\tFussell was recently in Australia watching the Bluey movie shoot and he said the team wants to look at IP opportunities for BBC Studios\u2019 other big properties or explore sub-licensing deals. He didn\u2019t elaborate on which properties, but Bennett pointed to BBC Studios Kids & Family\u2019s deal with Zog producer Magic Light Pictures last year, which has seen it take international distribution rights to Zog. <\/p>\n

\n\tFussell and Bennett were promoting BBC Studios content at the Showcase including Blue Planet III, Channel 4 thriller Deadpoint from Baby Reindeer maker Clerkenwell Films and new format Secret Genius.<\/p>\n

\n\tBennett is also interested in the microdrama space.<\/p>\n

\n\tHe said the BBC Studios continuing drama team, which makes the likes of EastEnders and Casualty, \u201care amazing at storytelling at a lower cost and higher volume,\u201d which could lend itself to microdrama.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWe are definitely investigating,\u201d he added. \u201cAnd with AI we are looking at what we can do in terms of drama documentary reconstructions. We will be talking about microdramas<\/a> in the coming months.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\tOver the weekend, we explored why microdramas haven\u2019t yet taken off<\/a> with TV\u2019s traditional sales houses.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"BBC Studios is eyeing growth in the international streaming space and acquisitions could be incoming, its CEO said…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":441878,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[13469,160777,13237,96,158043,145082,160778,391,56,54,55,115900],"class_list":["post-441877","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-bbc-studios","tag-bbc-studios-showcase","tag-bluey","tag-entertainment","tag-london-tv-screenings","tag-microdramas","tag-tom-fussell","tag-tv","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom","tag-zai-bennett"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/441877","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=441877"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/441877\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/441878"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=441877"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=441877"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=441877"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}