Report Overview

The BBC: Benefiting the UK creative economy

A monolith within the broadcasting landscape and the greater UK creative economy, the BBC, instructed by its Charter, is a guaranteed leader of investment in local and quality content, tech, regionality, and diversity

The sector’s balance results in skills, intellectual property and talent naturally flowing from the Corporation to private companies, incentivising ambition and success while allowing the wider environment to flourish. Those that would fill its void offer few of these guaranteed benefits

The efficacy by which the BBC achieves its required objectives is and should be open to questioning and review, however it nevertheless stands as a major and essential contributor to the creative sector, one of Britain’s greatest achievements

Contents

Benefits flowing from the BBC

Contribution to the national cultural landscape through quotas and commitments

Obligations to invest in local content, with the upside delivered to the producer

A controlled introduction of BBC Studios

A legacy of talent outflow but under threat

Enriching the entire TV and radio offering through quality and variety

Final thoughts—who will fill the void?

List of charts/tables

Figure 1: Locally commissioned programmes by genre

Figure 2: Spend on first-run, UK-originated programming, 2018

Figure 3: Proportion of BBC network TV hours from external suppliers (%)

Figure 4: UK TV rights and production income growth (1998=100)

Figure 5: Top 25 BBC dramas* by production company, 2009-19

Figure 6: BBC Studios’ production revenues 2017/18 to 2019/20 (£m)

Figure 7: Weekly reach* by channel