The BBC's new comedy and drama channel, BBC First, is hunting for a commercial partner to come on board in time for day one.
BBC First was unveiled at a glitzy event at the Hall of Industries in Sydney last night. The channel will launch on Foxtel on August 3 and Australia will be the first country to get the channel.
Katrina Norton-Knight, head of advertising solutions at BBC Worldwide, told AdNews: “We are hoping to get a launch partner, as well as one or two strategic partners. We are looking for premium partners in the automotive, financial and travel categories.
“We are pricing up commercial deals as we speak and hope to get a launch partner deal signed for six months, as well as category partners throughout the year.
“From an advertising point-of-view, we are pinning ourselves against Showcase, as in terms of commercial opportunities BBC First is quite similar.”
Norton-Knight explained content will be ad break free, with commercials only on the hour at the end of programs.
The launch follows BBC Worldwide Australia and New Zealand's partnership with Foxtel, announced last year. MCN is, therefore, handling commercial deals.
The key audience for the new channel will be females aged 40 plus and launch titles include The Musketeers, Peaky Blinders, The Politician's Husband and the new Alan Partridge mockumentaries.
Local content will also be pursued by the channel where possible, said Natalie Edgar, director of TV at BBC Worldwide. She said: “Local content and local talent are definitely things we want to support.”
She pointed to Banished, a new drama that is due to start filming in Sydney next month and then move to Manchester in the UK for the remaining filming. The show, the first Australian commission for BBC First, will be about the establishment of the first penal colony by the British in Australia and is planned for release early next year.
Edgar said: “Banished is very much both British and Australian content, which fits with our brand.
“In the future, it's difficult to predict where great stories will come to the fore, but all our content will be about serving our audience, the core of which will be females aged 40 plus.”
BBC First will roll out globally after the Australian launch. Edgar said: “There are talks going on at the moment about rolling out BBC First. There is potential to roll it out certainly in Europe, and beyond that it will roll out everywhere there is a market for it.”
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