BBC Worldwide Partners With Sony DADC for Next-Generation Global Distribution Strategy

LONDON, Sept. 8, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Sony DADC, a leading provider of digital supply chain services for the media and entertainment industries, today announced it has partnered with BBC Worldwide to implement and operate a unified global asset management and distribution platform.  The platform will provide extensive visibility, simplified access, and expedited fulfilment across all assets, channels, vendors, and deals that drive BBC Worldwide's business. The Sony DADC solution is designed to enable more efficient processes for BBC Worldwide to deliver programmes to global markets quickly while meeting increasingly complex requirements to support new business models, formats, and consumer devices.

Already one of the world's most successful exporters of television programmes, BBC Worldwide has thrived in the world of digital content, with global syndication partnerships that includes: iTunes, Netflix (US), Amazon (US), LoveFilm (UK), Sohu.com (China), Yota (Russia) and Videx (Japan). To maintain this growth and capitalise fully on opportunities around the globe, BBC Worldwide needed a new distribution platform designed to expedite the worldwide delivery of content in a digital world.

"At BBC Worldwide, volumes of content are rising quickly—from a current level of 74,000 hours per year of programming licensed across all platforms — and time to market is rapidly shrinking," said Abigail Hughes, SVP, Sales Operations and Digital Distribution, BBC Worldwide. "To maintain optimal business performance, we want to deliver more content to all of our partners faster."  

Sony DADC is providing BBC Worldwide with a comprehensive set of services that will enable the company to exchange content more effectively, optimise shared workflows, and interact more efficiently with strategic partners, vendors, post-production companies, and distributors. The platform is designed to provide visibility into every part of the company's global business to understand the goals and deliverables for each market and territory, as well as the flexibility to provide the right level of support for their specific requirements and market development.

Trey Bradley, EVP, Video Supply Chain Services, Sony DADC, said: "Leveraging our extensive experience and solutions with large studios, Sony DADC provides BBC Worldwide the ability to benefit from a true global digital supply chain platform that will standardise their inventory, provide real-time management of their fulfilment, and support their impressive growth across all new opportunities."

"It was important to partner with a vendor who both shared our vision, and could provide the full range of asset management and fulfilment capabilities we need to manage our digital assets on a global scale," said Hughes. "By providing a system where people throughout our business can see the programme assets we have available, then get it to market faster, in more ways, we can truly realise the potential of our global brand and our outstanding content resources."

BBC Worldwide is due to go live with the global platform by the end of 2011.

About Sony DADC Digital Services

Sony DADC Digital Services is a pioneering provider of end-to-end digital supply chain solutions to customers across the media and entertainment industries, including major film studios, broadcasters, music labels, game companies, software providers, and other content providers. Drawing on proven expertise in physical supply chains and a unique understanding of the global media marketplace, Sony DADC Digital Services is committed to the continuous development of next-generation solutions that deliver the speed, efficiency, and quality required by today's digital media businesses and the audiences they serve. For more information, please visit www.sonydadcdigital.com.

About BBC Worldwide

BBC Worldwide Limited is the main commercial arm and a wholly owned subsidiary of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). The company exists to maximise the value of the BBC's assets for the benefit of the licence fee payer and invest in public service programming in return for rights. The company has six core businesses: Channels, Content & Production, Sales & Distribution, Consumer Products, Brands, Consumers & New Ventures and Magazines, with digital ventures incorporated into each business area. In 2010/11, BBC Worldwide generated profits of 160 million pounds Sterling on sales of 1158 million pounds and returned 182m pounds to the BBC. For more detailed performance information please see our Annual Review website: www.bbcworldwide.com/annualreview

SOURCE Sony DADC