Brexit: BBC in talks for new EU permits

Bloomberg

The BBC is in talks with Irish and Dutch authorities to obtain licenses allowing it to continue broadcasting across the European Union in the event of a no-deal Brexit, according to two people familiar with the matter.
The UK licenses that the taxpayer-funded British Broadcasting Corp uses to beam hit shows including nature documentary “Blue Planet 2,’’ “Top Gear’’ and its World News channel into other EU countries will no longer be valid unless the UK leaves the bloc on March 29 with a withdrawal agreement in place.
British businesses are bracing for the growing possibility that it won’t be. Prime Minister Theresa May is struggling to get Parliament to support her deal with the EU that would prolong current broadcast licensing arrangements for two years while Britain negotiates a new relationship with its biggest trading partner. May’s Cabinet agreed to step up preparations for a no-deal Brexit.
The BBC is yet to make a final decision on international broadcast licenses, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the discussions are confidential. International media companies that have regional hubs in Britain, such as Discovery and Comcast’s NBC Universal, have also applied for broadcast licences elsewhere in the EU to safeguard the transmission of their channels on the continent.
“The BBC have a big problem,” said David Justin, president of One Six International, a media advisory firm based in Amsterdam. “If it’s a hard Brexit, they would face a blackout in some countries.” A BBC spoke-sman said the organisation will keep situation “under close review to ensure that we can continue to best serve our aud- iences in any changed regulatory environment.” The Irish regulator BAI said it had a similar licensing regime to Ofcom in the UK and had “been engaging with a number of UK-based broadcasters who are exploring Ireland, and a number of other EU member states, as a potential licensing jurisdiction in whi-ch to base their EU broadcasting services.” A representative of the Dutch media regulator had no immediate comment.
The UK is the broadcasting hub of Europe, home to more channels than any other EU member state. International media companies collectively spend about 1 billion pounds ($1.26 billion) annually in the UK on things like content, production facilities and technology, according to research by media analysis firm Oliver & Ohlbaum commissioned by
the Commercial Broadcasters Association lobby group.
Through its commercial arm BBC Studios, the BBC makes some channels available elsewhere in the EU, such as BBC Entertainment, which carries re-runs of shows such as sci-fi hit “Doctor Who,” “Bargain Hunt” and “Antiques Roadshow.” The BBC generates hundreds of millions of pounds of revenue from EU markets, according to the UK’s telecommunication regulator Ofcom.