BBC Says 'Unprecedented Funding Challenge' Lies Ahead As Content Spend Set To Fall By $200M
The BBC faces an 'unprecedented content funding challenge' in the year to come, the corporation's Annual Plan setting out priorities for the next 12 months has said.
As we have reported in depth so far this year, the BBC flagged 'co-production partnerships with global streamers and media companies [that] have reduced across the sector' as contributing to the major challenge.
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'Without intervention, it will be difficult to maintain the current ambition and volume of UK content,' said the plan.
The much-publicized drop-off in the American co-pro market has left numerous BBC shows stuck in funding limbo, although today's Annual Plan didn't go into further detail around these shows, which we know includes the likes of its Shuggie Bain adaptation.
The BBC did, however, reveal that its content spend for the coming 12 months will slide by £150M ($200M) to £2.5B. This figure does tend to fluctuate and is often dependent on whether there is a big sporting event coming up in the summer, which there isn't in the next 12 months.
Having forecast a surplus for this year after an enormous £492M deficit last year as part of a 'transformational budget,' the BBC in fact posted another deficit – although a far lower £33M 'due to some delayed transformation costs,' the report said. The BBC's group income will be just over £6B and license fee income is set to rise by around £100M to £3.9B, which is helped by an increase in the annual fee but 'partly offset by a 1% decline in the number of licence fee payers,' according to the plan.
The BBC unsurprisingly raised concerns about future funding challenges but used the plan to passionately argue that it is the premier maker of British content. It cited research that found 16% of UK adults agree that Netflix shows the lives of people in the UK, compared with 64% for the BBC. This comes with Netflix's Adolescence dominating headlines worldwide, with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer saying in the past few minutes that the show about teenage masculinity and the damaging impact of social media 'hit home hard.'
'As viewing shifts to international platforms, consumption of British content is at risk,' said the BBC plan. 'The BBC invests more in original British creativity than anyone else, keeping the UK's creative economy strong and supporting new talent across the sector.'
The BBC said viewing across its TV channels and iPlayer is more than Netflix, Prime Video and Disney+ combined, and ahead of YouTube and TikTok combined. Adolescence has topped the UK ratings charts for the past couple of weeks.
The document revealed plans to 'move more creative spend, programming and journalism outside of London to better represent and reflect audiences,' citing upcoming examples like Baby Reindeer creator Richard Gadd's new show Half Man, which is made with HBO.
BBC Commercial, meanwhile, which incorporates BBC Studios, will 'continue to invest in infrastructure, services and content.'
BBC Director General Tim Davie said: 'We are focused on our mission to deliver value for all, through our journalism, our storytelling and our unique ability to bring people together. The UK's creative industry continues to change rapidly, as does the world around us. This plan sets out how the BBC continues to evolve for audiences, both on and off air, but also how we will support and invest in the wider industry.'
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