BBC to launch Netflix-style US streaming service

The BBC will launch a Netflix-style video subscription service for American audiences in 2016, the head of the United Kingdom’s public broadcaster said. Lord Hall of Birkenhead, the BBC’s director-general, said the new Internet-based service will allow US audiences to access BBC programs that aren’t already screened on TV channels or available on existing streaming services. The new service is one of several initiatives the broadcaster is planning in order to raise more revenue internationally at a time when its public funding in Britain is under intense pressure. “We need to raise commercial income to supplement the license fee so we can invest as much as possible in content for UK audiences,” Lord Hall said.