By Alex WroblewskiThe British public will soon be able to watch the BBC’s new show, Suddenlink, and even the BBC itself has been forced to explain why it hasn’t made a subscription-based option available to the public.
But it turns out there is more to the story than meets the eye.
According to a report by The Sport Book, the BBC is preparing to launch a subscription service in the UK in the coming weeks.
While the new service will cost just £8.99 a month, there will be a ‘coupon’ to get in, with a total cost of £100.
There will also be a variety of other options, such as ‘digital news’ and a ‘newscast guide’ where subscribers can find a free weekly show they can watch for free.
The Sport Book report said that, like other services, there was ‘a lack of transparency’ and that ‘it was difficult to determine whether the BBC had actually tried to sell subscribers’.
The company said that the BBC ‘has not made an offer’ for the new Suddenlinks and it’s unclear if the show will be available in the United Kingdom.
The company is also reportedly preparing a new UK-only channel called ‘BBC TV’, which will be offered in the autumn.
There’s also an ‘incoming’ version of ‘BBC World News’ and ‘BBC Radio 1’ and it is believed that ‘BBC Two will follow in the next few months’.
The new service has yet to be officially announced, but it is likely to come at a time when UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is planning to launch the National Broadband Plan, which aims to build fibre-optic networks across the country.
The plans are being spearheaded by former Communications Secretary Karen Bradley and former Communications Minister Nadine Dorries, but will also include a new online service that will allow subscribers to subscribe to over-the-top video services like Netflix.
Netflix, Amazon Prime, and YouTube are also all expected to be included on the new plans.
The BBC is reportedly also considering launching an ‘app-based’ service, but the timing of that announcement has not been confirmed.