The BBC is to shut the online store that sells DVDs for hit shows including Top Gear, as well as merchandise such as Doctor Who Monopoly and Sherlock T-shirts, as viewers move to digital viewing.
BBC Worldwide, the commercial arm of the corporation, has emailed customers of the BBC Shop to warn them that the service is to close at midnight on 29 March.
BBC Shop has sold DVDs, Blu-ray discs, toys, games and “other BBC related products” – from T-shirts to board games – to customers around the world for almost 20 years.
The BBC said that the closure of the service was a reflection of the change in consumer viewing habits, from physical products such as DVDs to digital media.
“The DVD market has been in decline for a number of years as consumers move to digital viewing,” the BBC said in an email message to customers on Monday. “The market no longer supports the commercial release of many of the titles we’re able to make available. BBC Worldwide will continue to make popular programmes available on DVD and Blu-ray disc. [However] the cost of releasing programmes can be significant and we have to carefully balance decisions about which programmes to release against factors such as the number of people who may be interested in owning them.”
BBC Worldwide launched BBC Store, where UK consumers can download and buy digital episodes of their favourite programmes, late last year.
In addition, the BBC is continuing to make DVDs and other products available through third-party sites such as Amazon and HMV.
“After nearly 20 years of trading, it’s time to bring BBC Shop to a close but customers can buy digital copies of BBC programmes from bbcstore.com and BBC branded merchandise from other websites,” said a spokesman for BBC Worldwide. “Our DVD business remains profitable with wide distribution thanks to break-out hits like War and Peace and Happy Valley, while our digital retail business, BBC Store, allows us to release an unrivalled breadth of catalogue.”
BBC Worldwide said it was keeping its digital DVD and merchandise stores open in the US and Canada.
The global service will shut its operation in stages, with the last order deadline for customers in the “rest of the world” set for 14 March, across Europe on 21 March, and finally the UK on 29 March.
