TV- Public Broadcasting

 1) What is the BBC's mission statement?

The BBC's mission statement is to inform, educate and entertain. This means: to provide information; to support learning for people of all ages; to produce creative output; to have diverse content, and to reflect the United Kingdom, its culture and value to the world. They seek to act in the public interest through providing high-quality content and services.

2) How is the BBC funded?

The BBC is funded by the TV licence fee. Currently, the licence fee is currently £174.50 (subject to change) a year, which is around £15 a month. This fee must be paid by any household that wants to watch live broadcast TV or iPlayer. This pays for BBC TV, radio, website and iPlayer. A TV licence is unnecessary for Netflix or other international streaming services. They also gain some income from their commercial services: BBC Studios and BBC Studioworks.

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

To meet its public service broadcasting responsibilities, the BBC (according to its Royal Charter), must: provide impartial news and information to help people understand and engage with the world around them; support learning for people of all ages; show the most creative, highest quality and distinctive output and services; reflect, represent and serve the diverse communities of all of the United Kingdom’s nations and regions and, in doing so, support the creative economy across the United Kingdom, and reflect the United Kingdom, its culture and values to the world. 

4) Who is the regulator for TV and Radio in the UK? You can find details on this in the notes above.

In the UK, TV and Radio is regulated by Ofcom (the Office of Communications)

5) How is TV and Radio regulated by Ofcom? 

Ofcom regulates TV and Radio by overseeing all broadcasting channels and producing a broadcasting code, that every broadcaster must follow or face large fines and / or have their licence revoked. For example, in 2022, Ofcom removed RT (Russia Today) 's licence for continually broadcasting propaganda that favoured the Russian Government, breaking the rules that Ofcom have with impartiality. Ofcom also regulate TV to ensure that rules are followed and inappropriate content is not broadcast to audiences. The BBC is regulated by Ofcom.

6) How do Doctor Who and His Dark Materials help the BBC to meet the BBC's remit to inform, educate and entertain? Answer this question in at least 150 words.

The TV licence isn't great value for money when compared to subscription-based services like Netflix and Disney+. As the TV licence costs £174.50 annually, it equates to around £15 a month, while other streaming services average at around £10 a month. While a TV license allows someone to access BBC iPlayer (that can be accessed without a licence regardless) and live TV, live TV has become too unpopular for it to be worth the money. Now, streaming services are exponentially more popular, and most young people don't even watch live TV anyway. Furthermore, the BBC offers much more niche programmes that are far less popular in comparison to most shows on Netflix and Disney+, so there's more of a deterrent against people purchasing the TV licence as there's a higher chance that they would prefer the shows on more popular streaming services rather than the shows on the BBC.