Younger viewers now watch Netflix more than the BBC

The iconic British broadcaster fears being 'overtaken by competitors' as technology firms increasingly dominate on-demand viewing.

The BBC is facing a crisis over its youth audience after admitting that young people are spending more time watching Netflix than all of its BBC TV services each week, and listening to more music on streaming services such as Spotify than BBC radio stations.

The corporation has traditionally dominated the UK TV and radio landscape but is having to reinvent the way it connects with media-savvy young audiences who are turning increasingly to digital services – mostly provided by US tech companies such as YouTube, Apple and Netflix – for entertainment and news.

The global media landscape is going to be dominated by four, perhaps five, companies in the years to come. Companies with extraordinary technical, financial and creative firepower. Does music streaming spell mortal danger to radio? Can the BBC keep pace with a rapidly growing Netflix?

It seems only a few short years ago that the BBC was thought of as the titan of British media. But what about now: where does the BBC fit in to the new media world?

▍生词好句

1. iconic /ʌɪˈkɒnɪk/: adj. legendary; something iconic is so famous and represents something really important.

2. reinvent /riːɪnˈvɛnt/: vt. change (something) so much that it appears to be entirely new.

3. savvy /ˈsavi/: adj. if you are savvy, you know a lot about something.

4. titan /ˈtʌɪt(ə)n/: n. a person or thing of very great strength, intellect, or importance.

▍Interesting facts about the BBC

1. The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters are at Broadcasting House in Westminster, London and it is the world's oldest national broadcasting organization.

2. The BBC is sometimes known as "the Beeb", and "Auntie".

3. Basically, the BBC is not state-owned and it's not state-controlled. The government doesn't pay for the BBC, and the government doesn't have control over the content that the BBC broadcasts.

4. For as long as the BBC has existed, there have never been any advertisements. So the BBC doesn't have any commercial income or revenue. It doesn't make any money from advertising.

5. There is a law which says in the UK, if you buy a TV, even if you never switch on your TV, even if you never watch a TV programme on that TV, you still have to buy the TV licence fee. And some people do go to jail because they don't have their BBC TV licence.

6. The BBC has a reputation of being a very serious news channel, but that's not always true. The BBC has a history of doing pranks on April Fools' day.