BBC orders original dramas for iPlayer

UK public broadcaster the BBC has ordered a strand of original dramas for its iPlayer catch-up service.

The dramas will be made as a result of a venture between the BBC’s in-house drama department, iPlayer and youth-skewed digital channel BBC Three.

The strand will comprise six short films from up and coming directing talent from across the UK.

The BBC said in February that it planned a twelve month trial that would involve it launching up to 40 hours on iPlayer before linear TV.

This is the first news of actual projects and is over a longer time span with the BBC Three dramas being made over the next two years.

The broadcaster has launched some content online ahead of TV before including Doctor Who series Pond Life, which was released on the Doctor Who website last year.

Victoria Jaye, BBC head of IPTV & TV Online Content, says: “This ambitious new strand builds on BBC iPlayer as a creative platform to bring original British drama to audiences online, and explores storytelling outside of a scheduled TV slot or duration.”

Zai Bennett, controller of BBC Three says: “As a youth channel, BBC Three is at the forefront of new ways to commission and view programmes and to find up and coming talent both on and off the screen. This new drama strand is exactly the kind of venture BBC Three is all about.”