Tim Davie Sets Out Vision for BBC

Delivering his introductory address as the new director-general of the BBC, Tim Davie laid out his priorities for the public broadcaster, declaring “there is no room for complacency” as the organization faces a challenging future.

Davie delivered his opening address as the 17th director-general of the BBC in Cardiff. “My belief that a universal BBC really matters has strengthened even more over these past few months. It is important to us and our families, to who we are, to our economic growth, to our amazing cultural life, to a thriving, questioning, open democracy, to our future. The BBC is the triumph of the idea that in an increasingly, diverse society, the things that hold us together can be bigger than those that force us apart. The BBC is a force for good that others across the world look at with envy. A brilliant example of what makes the U.K. so very special. It is worth championing, it is worth reforming, it is worth investing in.”

He continued, “This digital world demands that we ask profound questions about the role of public-service broadcasting.”

The BBC remains central to audiences’ lives, Davie said, reaching 91 percent of adults every week for nearly 18 hours. “And despite the challenges to attract younger audiences, eight in ten of those under the age of 35 come to us every week.

“We are by far the most trusted provider of news. And when we get it right, as we did so often in these COVID-stricken times, audiences come to us in huge numbers—whether that be local and national news coverage, landmark dramas, our remarkable Bitesize educational offer, or our ambitious coverage of events like VJ day that bring us together. There has been stunning creative content, delivered across online, radio and TV, in the most demanding of circumstances.”

Looking to the future, David continued, “there is no room for complacency. The truth is that for all our extraordinary efforts there is significant risk. If current trends continue we will not feel indispensable enough to all our audience. We must evolve to protect what we cherish. The evidence is unequivocal: the future of a universal BBC can no longer be taken for granted. We have no inalienable right to exist. We are only as good as the value we deliver our audiences, our customers. We must grow that value. That is our simple mission.”

Davie stressed that he does not want a “subscription BBC that serves the few. We could make a decent business out of it, and I suspect it could do quite well in certain postcodes, but it would make us just another media company serving a specific group. The U.K.’s creative industries have been a global economic success because of a rather enlightened blend of the free market and smart universal interventions like the BBC, and our landmark museums… open to all. It is a brilliant national success that future generations deserve to benefit from.”

In order to secure BBC’s future, Davie says the organization needs “a radical shift in our focus from the internal to the external, to focus on those we serve: the public. This is not just an obsession with youth, it is a determination, an obligation to make all parts of the U.K. feel it is their BBC. Ensuring everything we do is not only in line with public service values—that is no longer enough by itself—but also making the highest impact with our limited time and money.

“This is a winnable battle,” David added. “Our aim is not to beat others at their own game. It is to focus on being more rather than less BBC, more distinctive, and committed to our unique public-service mission. We do not need all of everyone’s media time, but we do need habitual use of the BBC and a deep attachment to at least some of our content.”

To ensure BBC can meet that goal, Davie set out four key priorities: renewing its commitment to impartiality, focusing on “unique, high-impact content,” extracting more value from its online assets and expanding its commercial revenues.

Addressing the need for “high-impact work that is loved,” David noted, “We are surrounded by global players with monster budgets. We must pick our battles carefully and make sure we get the biggest bang for limited bucks. As DG, I want to oversee a period when we make the most ambitious, exciting, unique content.

“The truth is that we have tried to cope with increasing competition by making more and spreading ourselves too thinly.

“Of course, we need to offer a broad choice as the BBC, and we should not retreat to a narrow offer. But we have been too slow to stop things that don’t work. And we duplicate work between different parts of the organization, not making the most of ideas across one BBC. This limits money for new ideas and for investment into things which are working well. A creative, innovative organization needs the space and money to make new things happen. If we try and do too much we can feel starved of the financial oxygen to breathe life into new creative ideas. So we are going to do something quite simple. We are going to look in all areas and identify how we can have more impact by making less. I want us to consider what we would do if we could only make 80 percent of our current hours. What would we stop? To be very clear, this is not about cuts to save money, it is about reallocating funds to where they generate the most value—to ensure that we make our output world-beating and utterly distinctive.”

On the linear channels, Davie said the BBC is “well across the bridge from linear to on-demand, but we will be in a hybrid world for decades to come. We have no short-term plans to shut channels or radio networks. I think it would be silly to close the shop windows that showcase our work to millions. But I do think this moment marks the end of linear expansion for the BBC. We will not propose to take any further DAB or traditional TV channel capacity for our services. If we want to launch a new offer, and we will consider our options, it would need to use the current space. And, as we move further towards an online world we will not hesitate to close channels if they do not offer value to our audiences.”

He added, “Accelerating digital is essential to our success.”

On driving commercial revenues, Davie stated: “There are big opportunities to develop direct-to-consumer services in news, video and audio across the globe. We need to keep building major partnerships with the likes of FX, Discovery, ITV and Tencent, so we grow as a global provider of services and premium content. Also, we should be open to consider what other areas of the BBC could benefit from a Studios model in order to safeguard our supply of content and talent.”

Davie also stressed the importance of diversity within the organization, with an ambition to create a BBC that is 50 percent men, 50 percent women, at least 20 percent BAME and 12 percent disabled. “We are challenging every division to make plans to deliver this, at leadership levels as well as in total.”

He also said it is imperative to “create a simpler, leaner organization. We will keep a focus on cost reduction—so BBC U.K. public service headcount will be smaller. We will deliver agreed changes in News and Nations & Regions—a reduction of 900 roles—and look across the BBC to further reduce duplication, layers and overheads. This does not mean that we are not growing elsewhere. Our commercial Studios business is investing in new jobs, for instance.”

Davie concluded: “Our work is important. But the world has changed. If we really care about this precious institution we must protect it by reforming it. Repeating what we have done over the last few years will not be enough—we must all lead reform. The vision is crystal clear: a BBC that is utterly obsessed by its audience, focussed on what it does uniquely, and indispensable to modern Britain. Utterly impartial and alive with programming ideas. Run for the audience’s benefit. Valued and loved by all.”