Tim Davie Lays Out BBC Vision

Tim Davie, director-general of the BBC, said the pubcaster must make “bold, urgent choices to reverse the erosion of societal trust” in a speech today.

The address at Lowry Theatre in Salford was delivered to BBC staff across the country and highlighted how the institution can become “an institution that builds social capital and stimulates growth in the online, AI age.”

While there is much to be proud of, Davie said, “unless we act we will drift. Becoming weaker, less trusting, less competitive.”

Davie continued, “The future of our cohesive, democratic society feels, for the first time in my life, at risk. This speaks to issues way beyond party politics or one event, but to longer term factors such as the online revolution and globalization.”

The goal is to position the BBC to “have maximum catalytic effect on the U.K.,” Davie noted. “How we can help families and the U.K. as a whole? With courage, collaboration, investment and imagination, we can create a U.K. that is more inclusive, more secure and more successful.”

Davie highlighted five things the U.K. can do, with the BBC as a “key delivery partner”: become a global leader in trusted information, support democracy, deploy AI and education technology that will serve the public interest, maximize economic growth and ensure a fair digital transition.

The BBC’s role in that process would include expanding the presence of BBC News on YouTube and Tik Tok to “ensure we have a stronger position amidst the noise,” Davie said, as well as using AI responsibly alongside trusted BBC journalism to create a fact-checking tool.  The organization is also exploring if BBC Bitesize and agentic AI can create a personal learning companion for every single child aged 7 to 16. The pubcaster is planning to “supercharge” investment across the U.K. and create more opportunities for young content makers. Davie also laid out the BBC’s call for a national plan for IP switchover in the 2030s.

Davie discussed the upcoming charter renewal in 2027. “Critically, we will need a strong Charter to enable growth, securing a universal public service BBC for a generation and safeguarding our independence. We need a Charter that allows us to act faster—to be more agile and respond to the changing market, technology and audience needs. One which allows the BBC to extend our partnerships with other PSBs and enables the BBC and other U.K. players to build scale together. When it comes to funding, we are not asking for the status quo. We want modernization and reform. But in doing so we must safeguard universality. All the funding models that have been floated in the debate have their merits and drawbacks. But some such as advertising or subscription don’t pass the test of building a universal trusted public service. Beyond that, we keep an open mind. And we continue to actively explore all options that can make our funding model fairer, more modern and more sustainable.”