BBC Studios Receives Formal Approval to Launch as a Commercial Entity

LONDON: BBC Studios has been given formal approval to launch as a commercial subsidiary and make programs for other broadcasters and customers.

Following an extensive regulatory assessment and public consultation, the BBC Trust has formally approved the proposals, which are supported by the government and OFCOM. The BBC’s TV production arm has been making shows for the BBC for more than 50 years, from Planet Earth II, Strictly Come Dancing and Doctor Who to Mrs Brown’s Boys, Top Gear and The Proms. As part of the BBC’s plans to transform the way it produces and supplies content, BBC Studios is now able to compete in the market and make content for new channels and audiences, outside of license-fee funding.

BBC Studios is set to launch as a wholly owned subsidiary in April 2017. It will be committed to supporting the BBC’s public service mission and profits will return to the BBC Group.

Tony Hall, BBC’s director general, said: “We are renowned and celebrated around the world for the quality of our programs. I am delighted that our plans have been approved. BBC Studios will soon be able to produce bold, British, creative content for other broadcasters and services, as well as the BBC. BBC Studios is vital to the BBC’s future success—I want to ensure we remain the best program makers in the world through the coming decades.”

Mark Linsey, the director of BBC Studios, added: “BBC Studios has so much to offer creatively, both to broadcasters and the incredible range of talent who work with us. We are responsible for many of the U.K.’s biggest and boldest shows and the breadth of our portfolio, combined with our BBC editorial values and over 50 years heritage, make us very unique. We have a huge amount of ambition and are excited about continuing our bedrock relationship with the BBC while taking our creative ideas to new audiences.”