BBC Studios boss says streaming is the future, but linear is still profitable

Marcus Arthur tells Deadline about walking the tightrope in a streaming-first world, where Khati is still a big investor. Arthur runs a large and complex business. Having been promoted from CEO of the UKTV Channel Group to Executive Director of Global Channels and BBC Studios, he faces a huge challenge. Placing a commercial arm […]

Marcus Arthur tells Deadline about walking the tightrope in a streaming-first world, where Khati is still a big investor.

Arthur runs a large and complex business. Having been promoted from Group CEO of UKTV Channels to Executive Director of Global Channels and BBC Studios, he faces a huge challenge. Positioning the 100-year-old BBC's commercial arm for the future of streaming, while managing traditional linear channels that still do great business in many international territories.

"Streaming is definitely our future, and building for a streaming-first future is critical," says Arthur. "But linear is still very important to the profits that businesses make and will be in the next five to 10 years. The art is to control the clutch between building for the future of streaming, but still trying to maximize the profits of large linear businesses." Related Stories Festivals MIPCOM 2026 Proposals: Surfing the New Wave of TV with YouTube, 'Baywatch', Skydance, Banijay and More News How Matthew Gray Gubler returned to the 'Einstein' drawing

BBC Studios has a huge catalog of shows it sells around the world - it hit MIPCOM with its brilliant spin-off Dancing with the Stars - but its channels and streaming business are still big earners, with revenues of £788m ($1.1bn) for the 2025/26 financial year. Watch on Deadline

Arthur's portfolio includes channels and digital services that include linear pay TV networks, branded ad-supported channels, direct-to-consumer services and U.K. SVoD broadcaster BritBox International is in the mix, and Arthur oversees it outside of North America.

"The problem for broadcasters is that the new [streaming] paradigm doesn't happen overnight," he says. It takes time to develop your digital services and routes to market." "And the whole time you're investing [in broadcasting], you still have to keep your linear business warm. You're not getting hits for free. You have to do both."

BBC Studios is not beholden to shareholders like a company like Comcast, which has spun off its legacy channels and streaming businesses. Arthur says these gestures have contributed to a narrative that doesn't always acknowledge linear value.

"The businesses that choose to keep them are the ones that believe they can still use the linear aspects of their business for a long time for their future profitability, and most of them use those profits to invest in the digital sector."

Meanwhile, with a smorgasbord of channels, there will always be fine-tuning and rebranding. Drama network BBC First is a case in point: it was renamed BBC Belgium in that European country and has since grown in viewership with a launch line-up that included the likes of Wild Cherry, Foyle's War and Call the Midwife. The rebranding followed a similar move in the Netherlands where BBC First was rebranded as BBC NL.

Last year, BBC Studios partnered with CosmoBlue to distribute channels and launch a new public entertainment network across the Middle East and North Africa and Türkiye. Part of the deal was also the integration of the BBC streaming service into the CosmoGO streaming app.

TheBBC Player's on-demand services can bridge traditional and new, offering a streaming service that can sit alongside conventional channels.

"We've grown it to 21 products in the EMEA region," says Arthur. We have taken over existing channel businesses and put the best digital product alongside it. "When we talk to the payment platforms that we have relationships with, we're now talking to them about a linear business that has a really strong digital future."

BBC Player is multi-genre, including drama, and there's also the script-focused BritBox service. In line with a host of business models across the BBC's studio channels and streaming business, BritBox will operate as a direct-to-consumer SVoD offering in Australia, while operating in conjunction with regional pay-TV platforms in Northern Europe.

Elsewhere, BBC Studios' UKTV channel group struck a deal last year to launch content from its U-branded on-demand service on Channel 4's streaming platform. This means Channel 4 has bolstered its broadcast offering with UKTV shows including the reboot of Bergerac, as well as classic BBC shows airing on UKTV channels including The Office and Red Dwarf.

Arthur gives a progress report: “We've had a very healthy market and we've managed not to cannibalize our independent services. This deal was great for Channel 4 as it got great content from the BBC, archive and original UKTV. "For UKTV, it took us to a platform that is inherently younger and exposed us to a lot of new people."

Free Ad-Supported TV (FAST) streaming is a smart way to make the most of a huge catalog and BBC Studios is constantly launching channels. Arthur tells us he's about to launch a series of new channels in the UK linked to some of the best-selling brands.

The aforementioned U-branded service will be from UKTV, with Top Gear on U, EastEnders on U and Antiques Roadshow on U among the eight launches.

"You can test and learn with FAST," says Arthur. "You can pull up channels and see if they grow, and then move and change."

Across EMEA, BBC Studios announced that 53.6 million hours of its FAST channels were watched in the first seven months of this year, an increase of more than 50% on last year.

FAST can also fill gaps that the BBC Studio service does not. "They've been doing great for us where we don't have any big deals for payments or our channel. It's a very effective way to launch into markets."

Outside of the studio business, the BBC pubcaster is in dramatic decline. For BBC Studios, the knock-on effect is a recognition of the importance of cash flowing back into the public service's parent company.

BB Politics has argued that UK regulations put it at a disadvantage compared to its peers in international trade. One of the reasons for the difference is its loan ceiling, which will reach 750 million pounds ($1 billion) in 2027.

"We have a good track record of spending it well when we've got funding and getting a return, but whether we have more cash available as part of the Charter is for the government and [BBC director-general] Matt Brittain," Arthur said.

Looking ahead to next year, Arthur says the BBC's iPlayer service will be modernized in look and feel. And of course, his channels and streaming division need to make money.

"We need to increase our income," he says. "Despite the fact that advertising in the UK may be incredibly challenged, I want to grow our EMEA revenue. I want to grow our APAC revenue and our revenue in Australia and New Zealand.

"We want this to be a growing business and show that we have the things to make it a reality," he continues. I don't want to just manage businesses that have fixed income and all you do is check expenses. "I mean, life is too short."

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