BBC Select Now Available Through Apple TV Channels

BBC Select, a new streamer for factual programming in the U.S. and Canada, is the latest video subscription service to arrive through Apple TV Channels.

bbc select

BBC Select offers curated non-fiction and factual programming, spotlighting culture, politics, and ideas through a candid, unbiased, and sometimes playful lens.

Shows available on the new channel include the acclaimed documentary series "The Rise of the Murdoch Dynasty," Aung San Suu Kyi documentary "The Fall of an Icon," and the films of Turner Prize-winning artist Grayson Perry and documentary presenter Louis Theroux.

BBC Select joins the BBC's portfolio of existing streaming services that includes BBC Earth, BBC Brit, BBC First, and BritBox. The new service is effectively analogous to an international wing of the terrestrial TV channel BBC Four in the UK, which focuses on the arts, documentaries, and current affairs.

Apple introduced the Channels feature in early 2019, providing a way for ‌‌Apple TV‌‌ users to subscribe to standalone services directly in the TV app. There is a growing selection of Channels available, including CBS All Access, Showtime, Epix, Starz, Cinemax, AMC+, and more.

BBC Select is available now in the U.S. and Canada via the ‌Apple TV‌ app and Amazon Prime Video for $4.99 per month.

Top Rated Comments

KrisLord Avatar
37 months ago
Those commenting above don’t seem to know how the BBC is funded.
Every penny from international sales will come back to the BBC and be used for producing new content.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
KrisLord Avatar
37 months ago
I fully understand how the BBC is funded.

Overseas sales are negligible, frankly.

£3.5 billion in mandatory licence fees from the British taxpayer per annum, for which there are criminal charges if you don't pay...

Roughly £100 million in profit from international sales.

Explain to me again who should be getting the latest and greatest features first?
We do get the latest and greatest first, the stuff we flog internationally is generally stuff that was originally made for the UK audience.

If these sales didn’t happen, then the original cost of production would have still been incurred, it just would have all been covered by the license fee.

I get you don’t like the license fee, but not selling stuff abroad because of it is an odd way of running the BBC.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
apparatchik Avatar
37 months ago
If I were a Briton, I would say the BBC, whatever fair criticism towards its content or financing model you might have, is a powerful resource of soft power, and allows Britain to punch above its weight-class, as a Mexican I enjoy very much some of its programming, they broadcast a different view of the world, and re-sell content to public tv channels all-around the world.

This is of course if you have some sense of cultural and strategic meaning, some British values and take on things deserve to be heard, enjoy or have fun with. Some people of course -and in their own right- might prefer to keep isolating themselves and become European Singapur. "Not with my money", etc.

I personally applaud its overseas availability and look with envy the greatest public TV Network in the world and its imperfect but meaningful model and how it gives back to its payers dare I to say a lot more than they give initially.

Remember that the money is spent on British job: directors, actors, designers, etc. This is money that goes right back to keep creators and content-producing Britons working. Better than spent in weapons, and more effective.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Kevrani Avatar
37 months ago
As for those citing the UK licence fee, none of the BBC's international services receive any funding from the UK public, which is precisely the reason you can't receive said services in the UK. As mentioned above, the profits from the international services are used to ploughed back in the UK service.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
kiranmk2 Avatar
37 months ago
I love the BBC. I find the news very balanced and my main criticism is that the journalists don't really investigate the details (so everything almost comes across as a press release) - but that is a criticism of most news outlets.

They also admit mistakes after investigations.

Personally I think the BBC represents excellent value for money. Think how much of your life you spend watch commercials on ITV/Channel 4 etc. They are also helping push the technology forward (they were behind the HLG HDR standard). Yes, they do annoying things (like abandoning TuneIn on Echo devices and all the issues that has caused) but then so do most companies.

The non-fiction programming which this story covers are almost worth the cost themselves! Think Blue Planet, Planet Earth, Charlie Brooker (before he jumped ship), Adam Curtis and the list goes on.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
NightFox Avatar
37 months ago
Whatever your views of the BBC or your perception of it's politics, don't for one moment take its output for granted. It's easy to (rightfully) criticise some of the quality of that, but do that in context - compare it to the output of other broadcasters, especially in other countries. And don't just look at that content from a personal point of view, more about how it serves the interests of a wider (and sometimes niche) audience. That's something you can only afford to do if you're not chasing viewing figures for your very existence.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)

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