Report: BBC To License Wii, DS, iPhone, Facebook Games

The BBC is looking to bring its well-known television brands like Doctor Who and Top Gear to numerous game platforms, according to an online report, with a former EA Casual executive coming on board to help. According to UK trade website MCV, the broadcaster is looking to target Wii and Nintendo DS for its children's properties, as well as alternative platforms like Facebook and iPhone for broader audiences. It's been several years since the BBC has been involved in game publishing. Its involvement in the industry has taken various forms over the last few decades, stretching back to the successful BBC Micro computer line, which it marketed throughout the 1980s. Recently, the BBC has been "largely aggregating and holding on to our properties to wait and see how the market developed," BBC Worldwide multimedia development head Dave Anderson told MCV. To help guide the company's new forays into the gaming market, the broadcaster has hired Electronic Arts executive Robert Nashak, according to Nashak's LinkedIn profile, which lists him as an EVP of digital entertainment at BBC Worldwide as of this month, working out of the group's Los Angeles office. At EA, Nashak was VP of Worldwide Casual Studios, and his career has included considerable game industry experience at publishers including Acclaim, Glu Mobile, Vivendi Universal Games, Disney Online, and Yahoo! Games. "We are open to conversations with anybody in games about all kinds of business models to see how we can extract more value," said Neil Ross, the BBC's children's and licensing division head. "Outside of Disney we have the most well-known line-up of children’s characters around the world."