- From April 1, the new £157.50 licence fee amount equates to £3.02 a week or £13.13 a month, for which the BBC provides nine national TV channels plus regional programming; 10 national radio stations; 40 local radio stations plus dedicated Nations radio services; one of the UK’s most popular websites; the radio app BBC Sounds; and BBC iPlayer. In the last financial year, 95 per cent of the BBC’s controllable spend went on content for audiences and delivery, with just 5 per cent spent on running the organisation. It also runs the Proms and national orchestras.
- 91 per cent of UK adults use BBC television, radio or online each week.
- The BBC won 184 major awards in total, including five Golden Globes and 16 Baftas for shows like Bodyguard and Killing Eve in 2019.
- 426 million people access the BBC around the world each week (including World Service, Worldwide and Global News). Blue Planet II reached three quarters of a billion people.
- BBC iPlayer served more than 4 billion programme requests in 2019.
- CBeebies was named Channel of the Year at the 2019 Royal Television Society Awards. The BBC reaches eight out of ten children each week
- Each week, BBC Scotland reaches around a fifth of audiences in Scotland.
- BBC Studios generated record returns of £243m to the public service in 2018/19.
- The BBC is responsible for 42 per cent of all investment into original UK TV content.
- The BBC is free from shareholder pressure, advertiser influence and the chase for ratings.
- The broadcaster is Europe's biggest provider of media and creative skills training.
- The BBC is a major driver of the creative industries which contributed £111.7 billion to the UK in 2018, equivalent to £306 million every day.
- The BBC generates £2 in economic value for every £1 of the licence fee it receives.
- It has the third most viewed website after Google and Facebook.
- BBC Bitesize, which provides free study materials, is used by 82% of secondary school students in the UK.
February 2020