Peter Kay’s latest sitcom will be coming to the BBC, but you won’t be able to see it on normal TV for a bit, as it’s going to be a timed exclusive for the iPlayer.
His new show, ‘Car Share’ that will focus on a supermarket employee forced to car share with a colleague thanks to new regulations, will be written by, directed by and starring Kay and the six half hour episodes will be made available online before they come to BBC One.
This is the first time that the BBC has made a piece of programming that will hit their on demand TV service before the conventional airwaves, but this is the ideal time and show to be doing it with.
Peter Kay’s a big enough name to take a risk with, as not only is this seen as a coup by the BBC to finally wrestle him away from Channel 4, but will also bring viewers to the digital platform is a way that a lesser known name wouldn’t.
The show isn’t going to be completely exclusive to the iPlayer but this is the perfect reaction to the culture of box-set-viewing that has become more and more prevalent over the last few years. People don’t seem to want to be drip fed their favourite shows anymore; they want to gorge on them instead. Netflix realised this when they made their original show House Of Cards available in its entirety right out of the gate.
The iPlayer itself has also been a massive success; easily the most popular of the on-demand services available in the UK and with BBC Three also planning to premiere six original dramas online before airing them on the channel, the BBC are looking to press this advantage home.
Peter Kay might not be a part of the edgy, new content makers out there, but for the iPlayer to be able to act as a pedestal for that in the future, they need a household name and safe bet like Kay to lay the ground work for them.
Are you going to be going online and watching ‘Car Share’ or are you going to wait for it to hit BBC One? Let us know in the comments section.