Dear Reader,
The paper that you are about to read was a report (topic of our choosing) for my English class in college. I put my heart and soul into this paper because, it was a topic I cared about. My research took about five weeks to complete because of the many papers to sort through of financials and government documents. Before I go any further I would like to say a couple of things about the paper. First, I tried humanly possible to understand how the BBC works in the United Kingdom and try to make sense for those American’s who might read this. If I made a mistake, I am sorry. Second, Wikipedia is usually not creditable, but in my paper I was allowed (by my teacher) to use it for the missing gap of how the government is “involved” with the BBC. There were creditable sources at the bottom of the page were I obtain the information, that made me allowed to use it. Finally, I if it wasn’t for people like J.K. Rowling, Scott Hoatson, and Matthew Lewis voicing their opinion on the BBC, this paper would have never been thought of and created. I never heard anything about what was going on with the BBC until I went on Twitter and saw #BackTheBBC hashtags. So I thank them and other countless stars for that. I hope you all enjoy this! -Victoria K.
“The quality of British broadcasting is driven by the BBC, there’s is the example that makes the industry try harder. The politicians may have reasons they would like to see the BBC reduced or dismantled, but the BBC is not for the politicians, it is for us. We must celebrate and protect the BBC for ourselves and for our children.” David Tenant (Actor)
Before we can make a credible and sensible judgment about the stance we have with the BBC, we have to understand what’s going on with the BBC, and understand it from an American’s point of view. So before I go explaining how this will affect American television, I will go into detail about how and what makes up the BBC. If the BBC is gone what will teachers show to educate their students? Where do we get credible sourcing for news and information? Who will put on new and entertaining dramas, comedies, sci-fi, reality, documentary, and movies that will be noted for excellence and creativity? There is only one BBC in the world and nothing would or could ever replace it. There has been talk about the BBC lately with stars such as J.K. Rowling, Matthew Lewis, Scott Hoaston, David Tenant, Julie Walters, Helena Bonham Carter, Peter Capaldi, Tony Gardner, and so many more. Making their statement public by supporting #BackTheBBC. So what’s with all the fuss? Why is it making all these public figures speak out?
Every ten years Britain writes a new charter, The Royal Charter, to serve as the BBC’s constitution. John Whittingdale, Secretary of State for Culture, Media, and Sport, presents this charter to Parliament and also signs The Agreement. Before he can present The Royal Charter and The Agreement, he first presents parliament with The Green Paper. The Green Paper that John Whittingdale presented to Parliament highlighted the following six major points; Is the BBC failing audience, Should the BBC make shows like “Strictly Come Dancing” (Dancing show), How should we (we meaning the British people) pay for the BBC, Could the license fee income be shared, should the BBC have a set of core set of values, and how should the BBC be regulated.” (BBC Green Paper: Key Points)
So let’s talk about some of the important topics that were brought up. First, is the BBC losing audiences? The 2013-2014 Annual Report stated that “99.6 % of the UK population watched BBC television for at least 15 minutes during 2013 and on average people in the UK watch for almost nine hours a week.” (2013- 2014 BBC Annual Report Accounts: Performance) That’s just television alone! It was also number one in the top ten European Public broadcasters in 2013 (BBC Charter Review: Public Consultation 2015). As you can see by that statistic, The BBC has a huge influence in UK and the rest of Europe. So how is it losing audiences with that much influence? Apparently, from that statistic, it looks like the BBC has a big market but is not using it to its full advantage. Secondly, how should the British people pay for the BBC, and how does the BBC make money? According to their full financial statement, they only went up 0.3% increase on their licensing fees. A TV Licensing fee is one of the ways the BBC makes money. The TV Licensing fee currently costs £145.50 pounds a year. If you are 75 years of age or older you don’t have to pay a licensing fee. This can severely affect the net and gross profit of the company. In 2015, the BBC total income was £4,805 million which is less than the amount they made last year, £5,066 million. Just to run the BBC this year alone is £4,093 million which was increased from £4,721 million the previous year. “The partial sale of BBC America Channel during the year, together with the loss of BBC Worldwide Service funding from the Foreign & Commonwealth Office.” (Income statement in BBC full financials 2014-2015). If they are barely making money to begin with, then how do they keep surviving on the bare minimum? Maybe they should up the prices for the regular Televisions licenses and seventy-five and older subscribers, or, since the BBC is commercial free, they should have companies pay to have commercials be aired. Finally, does the BBC need a set of core values? According to Whittingdale, the BBC does not have a core set of values and has proposed some by which the company should adhere to. These values are as followed: Independent, Impartial, High quality, Efficient/Value for Money, Transparent, Distinctive and Diverse/Representative. To run a successful company you must have a mission statement/ a core set of values. With these potential core values, hopefully there will be some guidelines on how to maintain and keep the brand identity of the BBC that we all know and love.
The Green Paper was released this year because it’s the charter review time. The Royal Charter and the Agreement has a review to see how the BBC serves its public and to consider its future. The current charter expires December 31st, 2016. “It (The Royal Charter) sets out the public purpose of the BBC, guarantees its independence (from government), and outlines the duties of the Trust and the Executive Board.” ( Charter and Agreement). The Royal Charter and the Agreement have to abide by the following terms; (BBC) is operationally and editorially independent of the government, there is no provision for the government to intervene in the corporation’s day – to –day operations, and (The BBC) is accountable to the license fee payer through the BBC Trust. (BBC Governance).
“It provides detail on many of the topics outlined in the charter and also covers the BBC's funding and its regulatory duties. The Agreement is an important constitutional document because together with the Charter, it establishes the BBC's independence from the Government.” (Charter and Agreement)
If the Agreement says that the BBC is independent, then why is the government involved? According to the government response on the BBC Governance, it says that the government is not to intervene in the corporation's’ day-to-day operations. It also says that it is operationally and editorially independent from the government. The BBC is set out for the public and it’s interests. According to a couple sources on Wikipedia* The Queen in Council (Queen of England, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II) appoints the BBC Trustees on the recommendation of UK government ministers. Getting an idea of what Queen – in – Council is all about, here is what is said about the Queen – in – Council;
“The Queen-in-Council (during the reign of a male monarch, King-in-Council) is the technical term of constitutional law for the exercise of executive authority in a Commonwealth realm, denoting the monarch acting by and with the advice and consent of his or her privy council (in the United Kingdom and Canada's federal jurisdiction) or executive council (in most other Commonwealth realms and in Canadian provinces). In those realms and dependencies where the Queen's powers and functions are delegated to a governor-general, lieutenant governor, or governor, the Queen-in-Council may be replaced by a Governor-General-in-Council, Lieutenant-Governor-in-Council, or Governor-in-Council, respectively. "The government of [jurisdiction]" is commonly used as a synonym for any of the aforementioned terms, though the phrase may mean more than one thing in certain areas. In practice, the Queen-in-Council almost always gives formal effect to decisions made by the cabinet, a subcommittee of the privy or executive council that includes the senior ministers of the Crown and meets often without the Queen or her local representative. An order made by the Queen-in-Council is known as an Order-in-Council, and such actions are subject to judicial review. Orders-in-Council may be used to implement secondary legislation such as UK Statutory Instruments.” – (Queen – in – Council).
It is technically “free” in the sense that the T.V. License subscribers have a voice and have a say on what they want to watch, but it’s the government, board of trustees and the Queen – in - Council who actually lead and listen to the subscribers. With this they do their best to deliver T.V. in their high quality of standards. For this new Royal Charter, The BBC Trust have set out a public consultation (survey) to understand what the people want from their BBC. Let’s just hope that all the people who are subscribers take the time and give their honest feedback in the consultation. This will help lead and direct the BBC in the direction that the people want.
“The BBC is at the very heart of Britain. It is one of this nation’s most treasured institutions – playing a role in almost all of our lives. The current Royal Charter, the constitutional basis of the BBC, is due to expire at the end of 2016. This paper (The BBC Charter Review) launches the Government’s process of consultation that will inform our decisions about the future of the BBC.” John Whittingdale, (Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport)
Why should we care about British media companies? Why does this affect America, especially American television? It affects three basic things; current and future shows shown on different networks and on - demand internet streaming, the net income/gross profits of New Channel America LLC (BBC America) /AMC INC, and American audiences. First let’s talk about what current and future shows shown on different networks/on - demand internet streaming will be effected. The BBC Trust has five specific priorities for sustaining citizenship and civil society, but their number one is to provide independent journalism of the highest quality. (Purpose Plan for Delivering the BBC Public Purpose: Sustaining Citizenship and Civil Society) Sure we’re not talking about journalism in this paper but the BBC prides itself on the quality it produces. The BBC brand has a certain quality that it presents itself. If it is tainted by lowering its standard, then surely we can see a decrease in competitive edge and value of its self-worth. The BBC has also produced shows that have won BAFT awards and many more were nominated in 2015 alone. The BBC has introduced many great shows to America including; Doctor Who, Sherlock Holmes, Orphan Black, Top Gear (United Kingdom version) Monty Python, Broadchurch, and Downton Abbey, just to name a few. That does not even include the educational documentaries and the BBC News. There are also American television shows that are BBC spin offs like; The Office, House of Cards, Who Do You Think You Are?, and Top Gear (American version). Not only will it affect BBC America, but other affiliates who broadcast these shows in America including PBS, TLC, TBS, and NBC. PBS in America is not a very big because it is public broadcasting, but getting Downton Abbey to play on their next work has increased their viewing audience. In 2012 PBS viewing ratings were up 216% higher than normal and also were up 26% on donations. (Downton Abbey and How PBS Got Cool) For once PBS was getting recognized for an actual show and not for a documentary. Not only has cable network been showing and producing spin off shows, but on-demand internet streaming media like Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime have opened their doors to British shows. Some examples of BBC shows for Netflix’s are; Doctor Who, Death in Paradise, Call the Midwife, and North and South. Hulu has more a vast variety of BBC Shows including; Bluestone 42, Alan Partridge, all the seasons of the Classic Doctor Who, Black Adder, The Thick of It, and so many more. Amazon Prime shows include; Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, The Musketeers, and Ripper Street. Without the BBC, we will lose so many amazing current shows and possible future shows. It will also hurt affiliates who show these programs, either by viewership numbers or the amount of subscribers leaving/ lack of subscribers coming in that were once present with the BBC shows.
Next to be affected would be, the net income/gross profits of New Channel America LLC. (BBC America) /AMC INC. On October 23, 2014 BBC World Wide traded 49.9% their stock to AMC Networks Inc. Both companies have entered a long term of equity of partnerships. With this, The BBC World Wide hoped to expand their American target market by having AMC Networks Inc. Since that has happened, their subscribers in the second quarter have decreased since last year by little over 1,000 subscribers. With this the BBC has given some of control of their programming to AMC. Past viewers and subscribers may have felt that the change was evident within the programs that have been showing this past year. It’s too early to say for sure though. According to Variety Magazine, thanks to the BBC America INC. deal, AMC INC. earnings were boosted up. “AMC Networks posted double-digit gains in revenue and net income in the second quarter thanks to the addition of BBC America to its portfolio of domestic cable networks. Total revenue for the company climbed 15.1% to $601 million, powered by nearly 23% gain for its national networks. Net income rose to $83 million, or $1.14 per share, from $58.6 million in the year-ago quarter. AMC’s results were well above analysts’ consensus estimates.” (Variety Magazine). New Video Channel America LLC is also doing business as BBC America. New Video Channel America operates as a subsidiary of BBC America Inc. (Media Company Overview of New Video Channel America, LLC) a subsidiary is a company controlled by a holding company. A holding company is a company created to buy and possess the shares of other companies which it then controls. With that being said, since BBC America is owned by a Limited Liability Company, there are not many public financials. It seems like AMC and New Channel America got the upper hand in the deal and the BBC seems to be losing out on potential profits from BBC America. If the BBC is dissolved, AMC and New Channel America will lose their investment in the company, approximately $2 million dollars, and can affect the outcome of their gross profit and net income. This can affect the money they put in current shows and also the future of new shows.
Finally the last to be affected is the American audiences. If the BBC dissolves it will not only affect the whole United Kingdom but The United States of America as well. We, including myself as an American, have great love and value for the BBC. According to the BBC Charter Review, the USA is the single best audience for world service with 30 million viewers. That’s including all BBC produced shows. The audiences have come to love and really get into the BBC programming styles. If we step back from all the annual and financial reports, we can see that the audience is the one who is affected the most. The audience that gets involved and interested in the programs is left with nothing when it’s all said and done. They are left to look to other networks or to watch lesser quality shows because there is nothing on. We learn and take information from television. If we continue to cut corners and start making less quality shows, we will be more likely to become a culture that is lacking in substance and standards for television shows. The BBC effects British way of life. It is the first thing they turn on in the morning either by television, radio, or by their website on the internet. To them the BBC is more than just a media outlet, it’s a sense of pride and nationalism. If it is taken away then what are they left with? If it is for the people, then why is it left to the government to make the decisions to dissolve it? It should always be the people’s decision if it should come to that.
As David Tenant stated the BBC is not for the government, it’s for the people. The BBC has been a national icon of the United Kingdom for over ninety – three years. In that time they have been the source of news, information and entertainment to the people of Great Britain. The BBC is one of the last crown jewel of Britain. It is also one of the last influences that the U.K. has over America and over the world. It will be a shame and a great misfortune if the BBC is dissolved because of the government’s lack of judgment. If it does dissolve, then the government has failed to realize how importantly unique the BBC is to them and the people it represents.
Work Cited
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