# data[].attributes.body
A study by Michael Nathanson predicts Netflix’s total streaming hours as a percentage of TV viewing will continue to rise to about 14% by 2020.

# data[].attributes.headline
Netflix Caused 50% of U.S. TV Viewing Drop in 2015 

# data[].attributes.subject
Netflix Caused 50% of U.S. TV Viewing Drop in 2015 

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.google.co.uk/amp/variety.com/2016/digital/news/netflix-tv-ratings-decline-2015-1201721672/amp/https://www.google.co.uk/amp/variety.com/2016/digital/news/netflix-tv-ratings-decline-2015-1201721672/amp/

- Netflix said members worldwide watched 42.5 billion hours in 2015

# data[].attributes.body
"Prime Video: £5.99/Month: Unlimited Streaming of movies and TV shows"

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Prime Instant Video: Amazon Instant Video

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Enjoy unlimited instant streaming of movies and TV shows. Anywhere, anytime. Start your 30-day free trial.

# data[].attributes.body
'Shopping'

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
4oD on channel4.com | Catch up and classics | All for free |

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
TV ad for Channel4s video on demand service, 4oD, on channel4.com. Catch up as well as classics all for free and available at your convenience. http://www.channel4.com/programmes/4od

# data[].attributes.body
We now have to have a TV License to watch anything on BBC iPlayer, when previously it was only for live television

# data[].attributes.body
- Data: Netflix and Amazon can analyse viewing habits, BBC doesn't
- Changes: Harder to make big changes on BBC iPlayer as it has to be compatible on more platforms
- Funding: Netflix spent £530m on R&D, whilst BBC spent £105m

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
According to BBC boss Tony Hall, iPlayer needs to be reinvented with new technology such as voice recognition and artificial intelligence to stay ahead of "rapid growth by our competitors".

He didn't name them, but those competitors are Netflix and Amazon which have in a relatively short space of time, elbowed their way into the TV market. From Stranger Things and The Crown on Netflix to The Grand Tour and Transparent on Amazon Prime, online-only shows have become core components of what we watch.

But while both Netflix and Amazon have invested heavily in content, it was the quality and simplicity of their technology that provided the foundation of their success. iPlayer may have led the online TV revolution, but it has since fallen behind in features and usability.

Hall is obviously aware of this, but for all his ambition, there are a host of reasons why the BBC will find it difficult, if not impossible, to make iPlayer as good.

The first problem is data, which is vital in getting personalisation and recommendation right. Netflix has more users globally - upwards of 86 million and growing - whose viewing habits help refine its systems. Amazon has data from across its retail and other businesses that has already made it a leader in recommendations (it has also sold millions of Amazon Echos, which gives it a big lead in the voice recognition tech that the BBC wants to add to iPlayer).

But much of the time, the BBC doesn't even know who is watching. Unlike with Netflix and Amazon, there is no required sign-in for iPlayer. The BBC is trying to persuade people to use a single sign-in system called BBC ID, which would let it personalise and recommend content across all its platforms. There are plans to make sign-in compulsory but no set time frame and doubts about whether it will be possible across all the platforms iPlayer needs to be on.

And then there are the technical challenges of making any radical changes to iPlayer. As a publicly funded, public-service broadcaster, the BBC has a duty to be available as widely as possible. That means making sure iPlayer is compatible with services such as Sky, Virgin and YouView, plus smart TVs and many other devices.

Adding new features or even making the way video is delivered more efficient risks breaking earlier versions or making it incompatible with older devices and services.

And here, the BBC is a victim of its own success. Not only is it funded by the licence fee, but it has also become a cornerstone of British culture. That may make it a well-loved institution but it also means if iPlayer suddenly stops working on your two-year-old smart TV half way through Strictly Come Dancing, you're going to be a lot more annoyed than if you have to switch over to your laptop to finish the latest episode of The OA on Netflix.

And not only does the BBC have extra hurdles to overcome, it also has less cash to do it.

Netflix's research and development spending in 2015 was $650.8m (£530m), more than five times the £105m the BBC spent on development and its research department in 2015/2016. Amazon doesn't break out its R&D, but as of the end of its 2015 financial year it had more than $620m in tax breaks, and said this was primarily what it spent on research.

Meanwhile the BBC is facing budget cuts amounting to more than £700m (some of which will be offset by increases in licence fee funding). It simply can't match the cash the digital behemoths are willing to spend.

Yet there is one thing that gives the BBC an advantage over its digital-only competitors that might be more important.

While Netflix and Amazon have huge budgets to pay for shows - it is estimated they will spend a combined $9bn on content by 2020 - the BBC, through a combination of established relationships, long-running series and the fact it still broadcasts live to millions, retains an appeal to producers that is hard for the tech firms to match. It also still makes its own shows, and is for the most part pretty good at it.

That Netflix and Amazon are prepared to spend so much money on acquiring content underlines the fact that it's what you watch, not how you watch it, that matters. And when it comes to what people want to watch, for the moment at least, the UK wants to watch a lot of what's on iPlayer.
Topics

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Why the BBC will struggle to make iPlayer as good as Netflix

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
According to BBC boss Tony Hall, iPlayer needs to be reinvented with new technology such as voice recognition and artificial intelligence to stay ahead of "rapid growth by our competitors". He didn't name them, but those competitors are Netflix and Amazon which have in a relatively short space of time, elbowed their way into the TV market.

# data[].attributes.headline
Move of BBC Three from TV to only online (BBC iplayer). 

# data[].attributes.subject
Move of BBC Three from TV to only online (BBC iplayer). 

# data[].attributes.body
This idea was first proposed in 2014. It is estimated that it will save the BBC £30m. The channel was suspected to have been watched by 11.2M people per week when it was a television channel, reaching 25% of 16-24 year olds.

The BBC Trust said there was "clear public value in moving BBC Three online, as independent evidence shows younger audiences are watching more online and watching less linear TV".

Save BBC Three Campaign petition had more than 300,000 signatures.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
BBC Three has broadcast its final night as a television channel as the youth strand goes online only.

Programmes and other content such as animations and short films will now be available via the channel's website and the BBC iPlayer.

The network has already posted a video from its YouTube account welcoming viewers to the new platforms.

The move to online was first proposed in 2014 and was approved by the BBC Trust in November.

The Trust said there was "clear public value in moving BBC Three online, as independent evidence shows younger audiences are watching more online and watching less linear TV".

BBC Director General Tony Hall has said the move will save the corporation £30m.

But the plans caused controversy, prompting the Save BBC Three campaign which saw more than 300,000 people sign a petition to keep the channel broadcasting on television.

Monday evening was its last night as a linear TV channel, and saw BBC Three broadcasting episodes of some of its most popular programmes, including The Mighty Boosh, Family Guy, American Dad and Bad Education.

The final programme broadcast on the television channel last night was a repeat of the first ever episode of Gavin And Stacey, the sitcom created and written by Ruth Jones and James Corden - who has since found international success as a talk show host in the US.

The target audience of the strand will remain 16-24 year-olds as it goes online.

The move means that entire series of original programmes previously broadcast on the network including Little Britain and Him & Her will be available to watch on demand.

It aligns the service more closely with services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime - where whole "box sets" of programmes are available to watch.

However, unlike those services, the new programmes that have so far been announced for the new BBC Three will be made available one episode at a time.

Among the new content going live on Tuesday is the first episode of the new series of the sitcom Cuckoo and the stand-up comedy programme Live From The BBC.

In addition to full-length programmes, the network will offer a daily stream of content including short films, blogs and news and sport updates - delivered through a new online platform called the Daily Drop, combining original content with material produced by other BBC services including Trending and Radio 1's Newsbeat.

Content will also be delivered via BBC Three's YouTube channel and social media accounts including Snapchat and Facebook.

The BBC confirmed in a statement that all original programmes being broadcast on the new online channel will be repeated at a later date on BBC One or BBC Two.

Last month, the network revealed its new logo, prompting ridicule on social media because of its apparent resemblance to a logo unveiled in the satirical sitcom W1A.

Analysis
By David Sillito, BBC Media and Arts Correspondent
This is quite clearly an experiment. Most people still largely watch traditional TV programmes on traditional TV channels.

The new BBC Three will offer up new programmes (around four hours a week of new content) on a website, the iPlayer and YouTube and then hope the audience will discover it amongst the deluge of video material that appears every day across the internet.

Up to this point, online video has been a side dish to the main channels - a chance to catch up or see something extra. Removing the promotional impact of a linear channel risks turning BBC Three into just another website.

However, it does release part of the BBC from the strait jacket of the traditional forms. Programmes can be whatever length the producers want.

Programmes can be turned around much more quickly. Programmes don't have to look or feel like programmes at all. Also, all the traditional programmes made by BBC Three will end up at some point on BBC One or BBC Two.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
BBC Three has broadcast its final night as a television channel as the youth strand goes online only. Programmes and other content such as animations and short films will now be available via the channel's website and the BBC iPlayer.