BBC to go to war with Netflix in bid for iPlayer become Britain’s biggest online TV service

THE BBC’s Director-General will today unveil plans to go to war with Netflix and Amazon Prime — in a bid to be Britain’s biggest online TV service.

Tony Hall, 65, will tell BBC staff of his ambitious plans to take on the well-funded rivals this morning as he attempts to turn the corporation’s iPlayer into “the number one online TV service in the UK”.

The bold move will see the Beeb go head to head with big budget shows including Jeremy Clarkson’s The Grand Tour, which cost £160 million and £100 million drama The Crown, which have set new standards in British programme-making.

But the ambitious target is likely to raise some controversy amid growing pressures on the BBC to reduce costs by around £800 million.

A preview of Lord Hall’s speech seen by The Sun reveals how he will tell staff: “iPlayer was the biggest revolution of the last Charter.

“Today it’s the number one video-on-demand service in the UK, reaching more people than any other.

Now we need it to make the leap from a catch-up service to a must-visit destination in its own right.

“Our goal, even in the face of rapid growth by our competitors, is for iPlayer to be the number one online TV service in the UK.

“That will mean doubling our reach, and quadrupling the time each person spends on it every week.

“And we want to do it by 2020. That’s tough, but I know we can do it.”

Currently the iPlayer attracts around 10 million visitors each week, which the BBC hopes to double to 20 million.

On average viewers use the service for around 30 minutes, with bosses setting a goal of keeping their attention for two hours.

But yesterday sources inside the BBC admitted they are as yet unsure about how the efforts would be funded or achieved.

Lord Hall also admits there is more to do in the Beeb’s efforts to reduce overheads, and challenged the corporation’s commercial arm, BBC Worldwide, to deliver more returns back to its public services.

It comes alongside news that a banker with no TV or broadcasting experience is to take over as the new chairman of the BBC, after Prime Minister Theresa May confirmed the appointment yesterday.

Sir David Clementi’s appointment as chairman is part of a major overhaul at the top of the organisation, with the existing governing body the BBC Trust being axed at the end of March.

His appointment is not without controversy.

He was the author of the report which first recommended the scrapping of the Trust, which he labelled “flawed”.

And Tony Hall has previously voiced concerns over that report, drawn up for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

But yesterday Culture Secretary Karen Bradley backed Sir David to lead the BBC, despite his lack of experience in the sector.

She said: “I am confident that Sir David will provide the strong leadership necessary for the BBC to remain the world’s best broadcaster.

“Sir David will bring a wealth of experience to the role and was the strongest candidate in an extremely competitive and high-calibre field.

“He has extensive experience as a chairman in both the commercial and not-for-profit sector, and has a strong regulatory and business background.

“I am confident that under his direction, the nation’s broadcaster will continue to go from strength to strength.”

A former BBC Trust chair, Sir Michael Lyons, was among those pointing to Clementi’s lack of experience.

He insisted: “What’s important is that Clementi focuses on making sure the BBC serves the people who pay for it: the British public.

“That means recognising it is not simply a big communications company.

“That it has an obligation to challenge power – economic or political – and most of all that its future depends upon the extent to which the British public trust it.

“All those things are entrusted to the new chairman. It is more complex than a simple business with a profit and loss sheet to be reflected on. That is the agenda for him.”