BBC Prioritizes Distinctiveness in 2017-18 Annual Plan

The BBC has published its annual plan for 2017-18, which in part outlines a greater effort to highlight the distinctiveness of its services.

BBC One, for example, will continue to broadcast a “demonstrably broader range of genres” in peak time than any comparable channel. The plan is for 1,520 hours of news per calendar year and 280 hours in peak; 45 hours of current affairs in peak; and 45 hours of arts and music, with some in peak. The channel will see 75 percent original U.K. productions and 90 percent original production in peak, along with 4,000 hours of first-run U.K. originations. BBC One aims to be the channel that reaches the most 16- to 34-year-olds.

BBC Two, meanwhile, will broadcast 175 hours of music and arts, with some in peak time. For U.K. original output, it will focus on 75 percent original production and 90 percent in peak, with a total of 2,200 hours of first-run U.K. originations. As the third-largest broadcast channel in the U.K. for adults, BBC Two will “reach broad audiences with its distinctive mix of programming.”

The online-only BBC Three will dedicate at least 25 percent of its new long-form hours to factual content, including current affairs. The service will also commission “substantial” scripted content, aiming for at least five long-form comedies. More than 90 percent of long-form commissions will be U.K. originations. The aim is for the service to reach 5 to 10 percent of 16- to 34-year-olds.

BBC Four will be eying different programming formats, including super long-form and multi-episode short-form formats. It will broadcast 175 hours of music and arts, and 75 percent will be U.K. original production and 60 percent will run in peak.

The annual plan also included news of the BBC’s biggest investment in children’s services in a generation, an additional £34 million ($43.9 million) across the three years to 2019-20.

Sir David Clementi, BBC’s chairman, said: “This annual plan outlines how we will strengthen the core values of public service broadcasting for all audiences—first and foremost through the brilliant year of programs and services that it describes. And it offers a framework against which the board will be able to assess the performance of the BBC and monitor progress. We are united as a board in implementing these plans with one voice.”

Tony Hall, BBC’s director-general, added: “Our ambition to reinvent the BBC for a new generation is our biggest priority for next year. Every part of the BBC will need to contribute to meeting this challenge. In this plan we set out our creative vision and some of the strategic decisions we will need to take to help us achieve that goal.

“The new funding we’ve announced today for our children’s services—the biggest investment for a generation—will help us ensure we can maintain our reputation for world-class programs across our linear channels, but also increasingly offer a personalized online offering for our younger viewers. By keeping our focus on our audiences we’ll be best placed to meet the challenges ahead of us and will ensure the BBC of 2022 continues to serves the whole of the U.K.”