Television: Industry contexts - the BBC

The BBC is a vital part of the British media landscape.

It is a public service broadcaster which means we own it. It doesn't make a profit and exists to produce high-quality media for the British public. It's paid for by the TV licence and produces a huge amount of content for the whole of Britain - TV, radio, BBC website, iPlayer and more. The BBC still follows its original mission statement from 1927:

Inform, Educate and Entertain

The licence fee is currently £159 a year and must be paid by any household that wants to watch live broadcast TV or iPlayer. You don't need the TV licence to watch Netflix or other international streaming services. 

BBC: Industry notes

The BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) is a public service organisation and the oldest national broadcaster and the biggest in terms of employees [over 20,000]. It is different from other TV broadcasters in that funding comes from us all as BBC licence fee payers whereas other channels rely on advertising and sponsorship.  The BBC has 3 key purposes: To Inform, Educate & Entertain. This means:

• To provide information (that is supposed to be balanced)
• To support learning for people of all ages
• To produce creative output
• To have diverse content (such as with its representations)
• To reflect the United Kingdom, its culture and values to the world

BBC regulation

TV is regulated in the UK to ensure that rules are followed and inappropriate content is not broadcast to audiences.

The BBC is regulated by OfCOM (the Office of Communications). OfCOM oversees all media channels and produces a code of conduct that all media channels must follow or have their licence to make content removed and/or be fined heavily. This includes what can be shown before the 9pm watershed and various other quality standards.

Although OfCOM is instructed by government, it is independent which means the BBC can remain impartial and does not simply broadcast what the government tells it to. 

Public service media - an explainer:

TV industry contexts: blog tasks

Complete the following questions on the BBC and industry contexts:

1) What is the BBC's mission statement?

2) How is the BBC funded?

3) What must the BBC do to meet its public service broadcasting responsibilities? (Look at the five bullet points above)

4) What is regulation and how is the BBC regulated?

5) How do Doctor Who and His Dark Materials help the BBC to meet the BBC's remit to inform, educate and entertain?

Grade 8/9 extension questions

Read this Wired feature on how the BBC is adapting to take on Netflix. What does the article suggest the BBC needs to do to remain relevant in a streaming TV age?

How does His Dark Materials help the BBC to take on the big streaming rivals like Netflix and Amazon?