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ABC, BBC move Jonah online

BBC3 in the UK and Australia’s ABC will for the first time make all episodes of an upcoming show available on the web before its linear transmission.

Jonah From Tonga (6×30′), created by comedian Chris Lilley, will be made available via the BBC’s VoD service iPlayer and on ABC’s iview for 48 hours from May 2.

The show, which is produced by Princess Pictures and follows the adventures of a bored Tongan teenage delinquent who previously appeared in Lilley’s Summer Heights High, will then start airing on the ABC1 on May 7 and BBC3 a day later.

The show was commissioned by ABC in Australia, HBO in the US and the UK’s BBC3 in 2013.

Victoria Jaye, head of TV content at BBC iPlayer, said the move was the VoD service’s first collaboration with an international broadcaster to “create an online TV event.”

“We’re excited to see how this digital event sets light to social media activity from fans both here and on the other side of the world.”

ABC director of TV Richard Finlayson added that the decision was part of “a very gradual transformation to internet protocol and on-demand viewing.”

The move comes after the UK pubcaster recently decided to end BBC3’s linear transmission and maintain the channel online, which prompted its controller Zai Bennett to leave the organisation earlier this week for rival broadcaster Sky.

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