The BBC needs to take confident and decisive steps and take some risks to retain its audience reach and trust amid what he called a “full-on crisis” of trust that major organizations are facing and a “brutal” financial state of affairs, outgoing BBC director general Tim Davie said during a Royal Television Society (RTS) keynote speech and Q&A in London on Thursday.
In one of his final public appearances before his April 2 departure, which sounded like a call to action, he spoke about the U.K. public broadcaster’s future in central London amid such challenges as expanding restrictions on journalism around the world, AI, as well as misinformation and disinformation.
“It’s not about disowning the past,” Davie highlighted about the BBC’s future. “We do need to develop a little bit of swagger,” he offered in a nod to a little more U.S.-style swagger. “The game is not up… We can shape things.”
His takeaway on what the BBC needs: “Reinvention to avoid decline.” Explained Davie: “Today, the BBC is strong, but it is on a knife edge,” requiring risk-taking and decisive action.
“Despite the hurricanes, we have been successful,” he argued, offering that “we remain relevant” and pointing to the broad reach and trust among audiences in the U.K. and beyond, the broad lineup of talent that the BBC works with and such hit content as Bluey and The Night Manager.
“Of course, we have made mistakes, and this has not helped us,” he acknowledged, though. And he highlighted that his team has had to make “tough choices to cope with a brutal financial situation.” In that context, he called for more long-term planning instead of short-term dealmaking.
He even made news by unveiling a new three-year deal struck by the BBC for The Traitors and Celebrity Traitors. The pact will keep the hit show on the BBC until at least 2030.
The BBC recently started negotiations with the U.K. government, led by Labour Party leader Keir Starmer, about a new royal charter that will govern the broadcaster for the coming decade, by publishing a review consultation document. Among other things, it proposed that the BBC streaming platform iPlayer could be opened to other public service broadcasters in the U.K., such as ITV’s ITVX, and the streamers of Channel 4 and Paramount’s Channel 5. The paper also included a similar proposal for the BBC Sounds service hosting podcasts from third parties.
The BBC document also mentioned that if more people were compelled to pay the annual license fee that U.K. taxpayers pay it could potentially lower the fee for the first time in history. “A reformed model that requires more households to contribute at a lower cost could strengthen fairness and sustainability while preserving universal access to high-quality, trusted services,” the BBC paper argued.
Late last year, Davie and Deborah Turness, the CEO of BBC News, said they would step down following a controversy over an edited speech by U.S. President Donald Trump. The BBC was criticized for editing a speech Trump made on Jan. 6, 2021, before the attack on the Capitol in Washington. The speech edits for a BBC Panorama documentary were misleading and cut parts of Trump’s remarks where he asked supporters to demonstrate peacefully, critics noted.
Davie also argued that running the BBC means, among other things, to “stimulate civic and commercial returns.” In that context, he shared that short-form content would be “fatal,” saying “accessiblity is different from dumbing down.”
All that aid, the BBC’s funding structure needs “radical reform,” arguing it was designed for a different age.
And he addressed industry consolidation. “In an age where Netflix and Paramount feel the urge to bulk up, we must act urgently to secure scale,” the BBC boss also highlighted. “We are in a game where we need more scale.”
Davie shared about his job at the top of the BBC, sharing, “I will miss it.” And he described it in this tongue-in-cheek way: “It’s not a breeze. Boy, there have been days! A rollercoaster.”
Following his speech, Davie was interviewed by The Thursday Murder Club author Richard Osman, who made jokes about the likes of the recent BAFTA Tourette’s controversy.
What was the biggest crisis he faced as the head of the BBC, Osman asked. “There were so many,” Davie replied to laughter.
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