BBC Studios Hails Record Content Investments

BBC Commercial 2023/24 revenues hit £1.9 billion ($2.45 billion), down from last year’s £2.1 billion ($2.7 billion), with EBITDA falling to £199 million ($256.9 million) amid “challenging market conditions.”

The year also saw BBC Studios hit record levels in content and its strategic priorities, including the full acquisition of BritBox International and investments in outfits in Scandinavia, Spain and Australia.

Tom Fussell, CEO of BBC Commercial, noted: “The last financial year saw good progress against our strategic objectives through record investment—in content, premium digital services and select international production companies. Despite the challenging external environment we saw good underlying growth and our long term ambition to double the 2022 business remains. We will continue to take advantage of new opportunities as they arise.”

BBC Commercial aims to meet its five-year returns commitment of £1.5 billion by 2026/27, a 30 percent increase on the previous five year period, with cumulative returns in year two of £693 million.

Highlights of the year included Time season two, Planet Earth III, The Famous Five and Einstein and the Bomb, the continued success of Bluey and the return of Doctor Who with a new global home on Disney+. Further, BritBox International hit 3.8 million subscribers, UKTV saw gains and the number of BBC Studios FAST channels hit 36.

Fussell added: “We recognize that while we are making progress, there is still more work to do, including how we recruit and how we educate recruiting managers across the business. As BBC Studios embarks on its transformational growth journey, part of our success will be measured on our ability to grow and empower our teams to deliver results as we develop a more representative workforce.”