What is BVOD and How Does It Differ from Other Streaming Options?
BVOD (broadcaster video on demand) is the streaming service run by a traditional TV broadcaster. It is mostly free, ad-funded, carries premium programming and is sold to advertisers as an extension of TV.
BVOD (broadcaster video on demand) is the on-demand and live streaming service run by a traditional TV broadcaster, such as ITVX and Channel 4 in the UK or 9Now and 7plus in Australia. It carries the broadcaster's own professionally produced programming, is mostly free and ad-funded, and is sold to advertisers as an extension of TV rather than as online video.
How BVOD differs from other streaming options
Streaming acronyms overlap, so the clearest way to place BVOD is by who owns the service and how it is paid for:
- BVOD is owned by a broadcaster. The content is the same premium, regulated programming that airs on the linear channel, plus box sets and live streams. Viewers usually log in for free, and the service is funded by ads.
- SVOD (Netflix, Disney+) is funded by subscriptions, with ad tiers added more recently.
- AVOD is the umbrella term for any ad-funded on-demand service. BVOD is a subset of AVOD with a broadcaster behind it.
- FAST channels are free, linear-style streamed channels, often built from library content, that run on platforms like Samsung TV Plus or Pluto TV.
BVOD is a content-and-ownership label. OTT describes the delivery method, and CTV describes the screen, so a single BVOD impression can be OTT, CTV, and AVOD at once.
Why BVOD matters to advertisers
BVOD reaches audiences that linear TV now misses, while keeping the brand-safe, full-screen environment of TV. The data from the two markets where the term is most established:
- UK: According to Thinkbox, BVOD viewing grew 11% year on year in 2025 and accounts for 15% of all adult viewing, rising to 34% among 16 to 34-year-olds. 90% of BVOD viewing happens on a TV set, not a phone.
- ITVX: The service passed 3 billion streams by November 2025 and, per Barb figures, has been the #1 commercial BVOD platform in the UK every month for two years (Advanced Television).
- Australia: The OzTAM VOZ Total TV report for H2 2025 put weekly BVOD minutes at 2.5 billion, up 27% year on year. BVOD-only viewers added about 11% incremental weekly reach to broadcast TV, and more than 16% among 16 to 39-year-olds.
That last figure is the core buying case. BVOD lets a TV plan recover the younger, lighter-viewing audience that linear alone no longer reaches.
How BVOD is bought
BVOD inventory is sold by the broadcaster's own sales house, either bundled into TV deals, bought directly, or accessed programmatically through private marketplaces. Because viewers are logged in, broadcasters can offer demographic and first-party audience targeting that linear TV cannot. Measurement is increasingly unified with linear: VOZ in Australia and Barb in the UK both report broadcast and BVOD audiences together, which makes it easier to plan total TV reach and frequency.
Two practical points for international advertisers:
- The term is regional. "BVOD" is standard in the UK, Australia and New Zealand. In the US, the equivalent inventory sits in network-owned streaming apps and is usually bought under the CTV or streaming label. Briefs need translating market by market.
- Ads still clear broadcast rules. BVOD creative typically follows the same copy clearance process as the linear channel in that market, so it should be planned into production timelines.
BVOD in practice
When GoDaddy entered the UK, Criterion Global built the launch around TV reach, including direct buys with broadcasters like ITV and Channel 5, and guided the creative through BCAP and Clearcast approval. The same broadcaster relationships and clearance process now cover those broadcasters' BVOD inventory, which is why we plan BVOD as part of TV media buying rather than as a separate digital line.
For a deeper look at the streaming landscape, see our guides to OTT advertising and CTV advertising. To size BVOD against linear and other video channels market by market, the Criterion Global Budget Blueprint℠ sets the investment level each market needs before spend is committed.