The BBC
Unique Public Service Broadcaster

Pre-BBC
• While an unregulated free-for-
all allowed radio stations to
spring up all over the place in
the USA, the British
Government were more
cautious.
• Pressure from the public by
1921 led the Post Office (who
regulate the airwaves) to allow
experimental stations like
2MT and 2LO

The BBC
• The British Broadcasting Company was
formed in 1922 by a group of wireless
manufacturers, including Marconi
• Broadcasting began on November 14
1922. By 1925, the BBC could be heard all
over the UK
• The BBC broadcast a mixture of plays,
talks, music and variety acts
• The newspaper industry lobbied
successfully to keep the BBC away from
the news. Bulletins were written by
agencies and broadcast only after 7pm

“Inform, Educate,
Entertain”
• BBC formed with a
commercial intention: to
sell radios
• But the first Managing
Director, John Reith, saw a
higher purpose
• He admitted when he was
hired that he “hadn’t the
remotest idea what
broadcasting was.”

Reith’s Vision
• Reith envisaged an independent
British broadcaster able to
educate, inform and
entertain the whole nation, free
from political interference and
commercial pressure
• Reith believed in programming
standards and a high moral tone
• His vision didn’t include popular
music!

General Strike
• The General Strike of 1926 was
a turning point.
• In the absence of newspapers,
the people turned to the BBC
for news.
• Reith resisted calls for the BBC
to be taken over by the
government.
• In 1927, renamed British
Broadcasting Corporation

1930s
• BBC moves into Broadcasting House, in Portland
Place London, 1932.
• Continues to broadcast a mixture of wholesome
entertainment (jokes on sensitive subjects were
banned), news, talks, plays, and uplifting classical
music (The BBC Symphony Orchestra).
• In 1932, launches The Empire Service (later called
The World Service)

Television
• Though Reith never saw its value, the
BBC was asked to test the two rival
television broadcasting systems.
• One was John Logie Baird’s
mechanical system.
• The other was EMI/Marconi’s
electronic system - which was miles
better.
• Early TV broadcasts included the
Coronation of George VI,
Wimbledon (1937), the FA Cup
Final (1938), and the Boat Race
(1938)

Events
• Why did these particular events become
the stuff of television broadcasts? How
would you characterise them?
• Can you connect the current forms and
conventions of TV broadcasting with
these early experiments?

World War 2
• TV was suspended for WW2, but
radio continued
• Initially, the BBC was broadcasting a
National Programme and various
Regional Programmes
• At the Outbreak of World War 2, all
stations were merged into the Home
Service
• People complained about the dry
tone of the output, so the BBC added
more light entertainment like ITMA

1943 - War Reporting
• New technology (a lighter, more portable field
recorder) allowed BBC war correspondents to
report from the front lines.
• The BBC gained a reputation for honesty during
the war. By 1945, it was broadcasting in 40
languages.
• Goebbels, Hitler’s propaganda minister, admitted
that the BBC had won the “intellectual invasion”
of Europe.

Light Programme
• In 1945, the Light Programme was
launched
• It played light entertainment and
music, often played by the BBC
Orchestra or the Billy Cotton Band
• There wasn’t much room for Rock
‘n’ Roll!
• The Third Programme, launched
1946, played Classical music

The Return of TV
• Although television broadcasting
returned in 1946, and the BBC went on
to broadcast the 1947 Royal Wedding
and the 1948 Olympics, it took till 1953
and the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II
for TV to become a truly mass medium.
• This was the first must-see TV event that
saw many people buying a set for the first
time.
• For the first time, more people watched
(53% of the population) than listened
(32%).
• Amazingly, 200 children in Great Ormond
Street Hospital watched the event in
colour.

The £icence
• Since 1946, the BBC has been funded by means of the TV Licence -
which is compulsory for anyone purchasing TV equipment in the
UK.
• The first licence fee was £2 per year (equivalent to just under £60
in today’s money). This paid for the single, monochrome, channel
then being broadcast.
• In 1968, after the introduction of BBC2 (1964) and colour
broadcasting, the fee was £5 plus £5 if you had a colour TV set.

The £icence
• The current licence fee is £135.50, or £11.29 per month.
• The licence fee funds BBC television (8 channels); Radio (10
networks); local TV and radio services; and the BBC web site,
through which the BBC iPlayer (on-demand TV) operates.
• In comparison, the basic Sky TV package with just one package
(mix) of basic channels costs £16 per month.
• The crucial difference is that the BBC (supposedly) doesn’t carry
ads.

Debatable
• Lots of people think the licence fee is
archaic and should be abolished. Why?
• Do you think the BBC is good value for
money?
• If so, why do you think this?
• If not, propose an alternative system.

How is it spent?
• 50% - BBC One and BBC Two
• 15% - local TV and radio
• 12% - network radio
• 10% - digital (BBC Three, BBC Four, BBC News
24, BBC Parliament, CBBC, CBeebies)
• 10% - transmission costs and licence fee
collection
• 3% - BBC Online, Ceefax, and Interactive
Content (including bbc.co.uk and BBCi)
• BBC World Service on radio is funded by the
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
• BBC World and other international TV channels
are operated commercially and do not receive
licence fee money.

Sources of Income

Structure
• The BBC is a QuANGO (Quasi-Autonomous Non-
Governmental Organisation)! But it was a QuANGO
before QuANGOs were invented.
• Until 2007, the BBC was run by its board of
governors, under a Royal Charter which is renewed
every 10 years.
• It is now run by the BBC Trust.

BBC Trust
• The members of the BBC Trust are
appointed by the government.
• http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbctrust/
“ The Trust works for the public which owns and pays for the BBC. We
listen to a wide range of voices, seeking to understand all opinions and
expectations to inform our judgements. We ensure the BBC is
independent, innovative and efficient: a creative and economic force for
good in the UK, and for the UK internationally.

“We aim to ensure...
• that the BBC remains independent, resisting pressure and
influence from any source
• that the BBC's management delivers public value by providing
distinctive services of the highest quality to all the people and
all the communities across the United Kingdom
• that the BBC contributes to the standing of the United Kingdom in the
world, to the economy and to British culture
Does it?

Consultations

The Charter
The BBC’s public nature and its objects
3.
1. The BBC exists to serve the public interest.
2.
The BBC’s main object is the promotion of its Public Purposes.
4. The Public Purposes
The Public Purposes of the BBC are as follows—
1. sustaining citizenship and civil society;
2. promoting education and learning;
3. stimulating creativity and cultural excellence;
4. representing the UK, its nations, regions and communities;
5. bringing the UK to the world and the world to the UK;
6. in promoting its other purposes, helping to deliver to the public the benefit of emerging
communications technologies and services and, in addition, taking a leading role in the
switchover to digital television.
5. How the BBC promotes its Public Purposes: the BBC’s mission to
inform, educate and entertain
6. The independence of the BBC
1. The BBC shall be independent in all matters concerning the content of its output, the
times and manner in which this is supplied, and in the management of its affairs.

Does the BBC work?
• Can you think of an example for each of
the public purposes of the BBC?
1. sustaining citizenship and civil society;
2. promoting education and learning;
3. stimulating creativity and cultural excellence;
4. representing the UK, its nations, regions and communities;
5. bringing the UK to the world and the world to the UK;
6. in promoting its other purposes, helping to deliver to the public the benefit
of emerging communications technologies and services and, in addition,
taking a leading role in the switchover to digital television.

Conflict
• The BBC has often been under attack by various
governments, so its Charter renewal is always hotly debated.
• In 1926, Winston Churchill demanded the BBC be
nationalised because of the General Strike.
• In 1956, the BBC was accused of anti-government bias
because of its “neutral” reporting of the Suez Crisis
• In 2004, the Hutton enquiry heavily criticised the BBC for
its reporting in the lead-up to the Iraq war (the “sexed-up
dossier” affair).

Bias?
• The BBC is often accused of having a left/liberal bias
(especially by the right-wing press!).
• Some left wingers also accuse the BBC of being too
uncritical of the government.
• “Neutrality” often leads to institutional problems related
to representation.
• Now listen to Jane Garvey (formerly of Radio Five Live)
reminisce about the 1997 election!

Questions
• Is the BBC truly independent?
• Does it answer only to its viewers and
listeners?
• Is its programming distinctive?
• What else could it be doing?

Homework
• Now you know about the BBC, you need to fill in the gaps
about commercial broadcasters in the UK.
• How/when was commercial television introduced to the UK?
• What was its impact?
• How does Channel 4 differ from ITV?
• How is commercial television managed and regulated?
• How does the institutional behaviour of commercial broadcasters
(like ITV, Channel 4, Five, and Sky) differ from that of the BBC?
• What are the key areas of competition/controversy between
commercial media and the BBC?