BBC Studios inks content partnership with India’s BookMyShow Stream

Studio to launch a ‘BBC First’ branded zone as a widget on its TVOD platform.

In the ever-burgeoning OTT space, the Transaction Video on-Demand (TVOD) category while nascent, has been gaining popularity in India due to its sheer convenience and economic model. Charting its way into this model, BBC Studios announced a TVOD India exclusive content partnership with BookMyShow Stream, India’s largest home-grown TVOD streaming platform from the house of BookMyShow - India’s leading entertainment destination. This inaugural partnership will see the launch of a BBC First dedicated branded space in the form of a widget on BookMyShow Stream, enhancing its bespoke and compelling portfolio with a dose of premium, bold, British drama.

The home of quality, original British dramas, BBC First features award-winning talent in front of and behind the camera with these stellar content pieces making their way to Indian viewers.

As part of the launch, consumers on BookMyShow and BookMyShow Stream will be able to access the following premium, drama titles on the BBC First dedicated branded space in the form of a widget on the platform. Pre-bookings for these coveted titles are now live on BookMyShow Stream.

• Sherwood: Sherwood launched to over six million viewers on the BBC (seven-day consolidated) and has been hailed by critics as one of TV’s greatest dramas of recent years. The drama, which follows a tense and heart-wrenching investigation into two shocking and unexpected killings, which shatter an already fractured community, is award-winning playwright and dramatist James Graham’s most personal work, having been inspired, in part, by real events that occurred in the Nottinghamshire mining village in which he grew up.

• Ragdoll: A gruesomely imaginative serial killer thriller, Ragdoll captures the fascinating but flawed friends struggling with the consequences of institutionalization and trauma. Starring Henry Lloyd-Hughes, Thalissa Teixeira and Lucy Hale, Ragdoll is executive produced and commissioned by AMC and UKTV’s Alibi, and executive produced by Sid Gentle Films with Freddy Syborn as lead writer and executive producer.

• Unforgotten S1: This crime drama focuses on a cold case reopened after 39 years. When the body of a young man is discovered in a derelict building, DCI Cassie Stuart - one of the Met’s smartest detectives - is called in to investigate. There are four suspects and each with a secret to hide. As their lies unravel, the people they love most begin to wonder what else they might be capable of. Unforgotten brings together one of the most accomplished acting ensembles seen on British television for years. The multi-award-winning cast includes Nicola Walker, Sanjeev Bhaskar, Bernard Hill, Trevor Eve, Ruth Sheen, Golden Globe and Bafta-winner Tom Courtenay and Bafta-winner Gemma Jones.

BookMyShow Stream will feature other titles including Smother Series 1-2, Traces Series 1-2, The Chelsea Detective, Happy Valley Series 1-2 and Unforgotten Series 1-4 on its platform over the next two quarters.

Commenting on the collaboration, Stanley Fernandes, BBC Studios’ VP for Distribution, South Asia, said, “BBC Studios is known for our premium content that is backed by powerful storytelling and the ability to connect with a global audience. We are constantly looking at innovative ways to complement the evolving consumption habits of our audiences and are delighted to embark on this new partnership with BookMyShow Stream to reach new audiences in the dynamic and vibrant streaming landscape of India.”

Speaking on the partnership, Ashish Saksena, COO - Cinemas, BookMyShow, said, “The TVOD space is gaining traction as more and more entertainment enthusiasts are imbibing the culture of ‘Pay for what you want to watch’, rather than having multiple subscriptions. With BBC Studios taking cognizance of the mammoth opportunity this category holds, we are excited to see this exclusive partnership scale it further. We are thrilled to bring coveted BBC Studios titles into the BookMyShow Stream fold furthering our aspiration to bring compelling international content for Indian audiences. The BBC First widget on our platform will attract audiences gunning for purposeful content bringing the best of British content to India. Through this strategic partnership, we aim to take our entertainment quotient a notch higher and offer an unmatched viewing experience to our consumers.”