BBC triggers Brexit plan by moving licenses to EU: report

The BBC will move some of its broadcast licenses to the Netherlands in an effort to keep transmitting across the European Union if a deal can’t be struck on Brexit, according to a Wednesday report. 

Bloomberg News reports the licenses are specific to the BBC’s studio entertainment division, which includes popular shows such as “Doctor Who,” “The Clangers” and “Eastenders” that are beamed out of Britain across Europe. 

If the United Kingdom leaves the EU without a withdrawal agreement, the licenses will no longer be valid. An agreement needs to be struck before April 13 to prevent the permits from being invalidated. 

{mosads}“As an international broadcaster operating a number of commercial channels in the EU we are ensuring the necessary arrangements are in place to continue operating those channels in any changed regulatory environment,” a spokesman for BBC Studios told Bloomberg in a statement. 

The BBC is not the only broadcaster to make plans to prepare for a possible no-deal Brexit.

In recent weeks, Viacom Inc., Discovery Inc. and Comcast Corp.’s NBC Universal have relocated licenses in the EU. Many of Europe’s biggest broadcasters are located in London.

Broadcasters must place their headquarters, a substantial portion of their employees or a satellite uplink in a country to qualify for a license there, according to EU rules. 

Britain is in the midst of a political crisis after Parliament failed to approve Prime Minister Theresa May’s deal to leave the EU. The EU extended a deadline for Brexit, giving May until April 12 to get a deal through Parliament or ask for a longer extension.

May has said she will now ask Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn to help strike a deal.