BBC reveals “biggest transformation” in decades
Details
Joseph O'Halloran
| 19 March 2021
Aiming to put more of the British into its name as well as its remit, UK national public broadcaster BBC has revealed plans to move the broadcasting base of its leading brands and divisions across the country.
BBCannualplan 25Oct2019
Over the next six years, the broadcaster will shift its creative and journalistic centre away from London. The proposals set out in the BBC’s blueprint for the future entitled The BBC Across the UK, represent top-to-bottom change and are said to cement the BBC’s commitment to better reflect, represent, and serve all parts of the country.
Explaining the reason for the move, recently Tim Davie, BBC Director-General, said that the mission of the BBC was that it had to deliver for the whole of the UK and ensure every household got value from the Corporation. These plans, he insisted, would get the BBC closer to audiences, create jobs and investment and develop and nurture new talent.

“Over the last year, the BBC - which has been an essential part of the UK’s culture, democracy and creativity for almost a century - has helped inform, educate and entertain all four Nations, as we have collectively faced some of our toughest moments in recent history,” he remarked. “Now, as we look to the future, we must play our part in supporting social and economic recovery; rebuilding the creative sector and telling the stories that need to be heard from all corners of the UK.”

The programme will see for the first time the majority of the BBC’s UK-wide TV made across the UK, not in the traditional broadcast centre in London, amounting to at least 60% of network TV commissions by spend. The BBC will also move what it says will be a significant part of its news production to centres across the UK, ensuring, it claimed, that it can cover the stories that matter most to audiences and more effectively representing different voices and perspectives. Half of the UK-focused story teams will be based around the country.

The BBC’s north of England hub at Salford will now be the main base for its digital and technology teams supported by digital teams in Glasgow, Cardiff and London. It will also expand BBC Studios bases in Bristol, Cardiff and Glasgow. Key news and current affairs programmes like BBC Two’s Newsnight will be presented from different UK bases through the year BBC One daytime show Morning Live will be broadcast year-round from Salford.

Funds will be invested in two new long-running network drama series over the next three years - one from the North of England and one from one of the UK Nations. Over the same period more than 100 new and returning drama and comedy titles will be made to reflect the lives and communities of audiences outside London, including at least 20 that will portray Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland.