The 1984 miners' strike saw similar complaints of bias - this time from the left. Further clashes with politicians took place throughout the 1980s.
Michael Buerk's reports from Ethopia inspired the Band Aid and Live Aid fundraising efforts, while EastEnders was the BBC's answer to Coronation Street.
The 1990s saw further change, as new director-general John Birt reorganised much of the BBC's internal workings, amid tremendous controversy. The BBC expanded with new channels - World Service radio being complemented by a BBC World television service, and satellite channel UK Gold helped it exploit its archives.
A new Radio 5 was launched in 1990, becoming news and sport network Radio 5 Live in 1994.
The late 1990s saw the BBC invest in new internet services - such as BBC News Online - and prepare for the launch of digital television by introducing new channels.
In 2000s The BBC opened the new millennium with the most ambitious programme in its history. Hundreds of outside broadcasts across the globe fed into BBC Television Centre, and a continuous programme lasting 28 hours was beamed back to viewers around the world. The show involved 60 nations, and was seen in over 80 countries worldwide.
Digital expansion followed with the launch of BBC Four, Cbeebies, CBBC and BBC Three, and in line with its public service remit, the BBC has led the way in encouraging digital take-up. When the terrestrial Ondigital service ran into difficulties, the BBC launched Freeview, enabling licence payers to move to digital without having to pay a subscription.
Also the arrival of digital services in 2002 marked the largest expansion of radio in the BBC’s History. Services such as 1Xtra, 5 Live, Sports Extra, 6 Music and Network 7 were launched and, by popular demand, World Service was made available to domestic listeners.
SWOT ANALYSIS
Strengths.
BBC makes high quality documentals, films, books, videos, dvds and programmes which are sold abroad to others networks.
BBC has a very high international reputation.
As BBC dose not show advertisements, because it is funded through license fees, live events can be enjoyed more thoroughly than comercial channels as you can be more engrossed in the event.
Also the BBC has a very high number of radio listeners.
BBC is well known for using the latest technology and relying on a high professional staff.
Weaknesses.
As the gained from TV licences are quite limited, BBC has to plan in advanced the budget of the year.
Less choice of channels, in comparison to satellite, cable and digital TV is another weakness of the BBC. The problem is being addressed with the introduction of new digital channels like BBC Choice, BBC 4, BBC Knowledge and the children’s channel CBeebies. Unless there is further expansion of the BBC digital channels then it is unlikely that specialised channels like Discovery or National Geographic can be rivalled. The terrestrial television picture is not as clear as that of cable or digital TV, the reception is not as good either. If good programmes are not produced then money can’t be gained from the sale of programmes.
Another weakness that BBC has to deal with is that they have a lack of control over their own finances, because they have to rely on the public to pay their license fees, because if the public would stop paying the license fees, this could become a serious problem for the BBC.
Opportunities.
Creating more digital channels would be a good opportunity for the BBC as the digital channels that have been launched so far have been successful.
If the BBC could not secure a live event without unlocking extra funding then charging to view the event could be an answer. The Government has listed certain sports events as ‘golden’ and therefore can only be shown on terrestrial TV. It is important that the BBC secures these sports to keep licence payers happy
BBC websites could be used like a Radio Times magazine to display news, gossip
and programme times and dates.
Another big opportunity for the BBC is the internet as they can offer extra and additional information which is not normally available to the public.
As BBC is aware that is succeeding in attracting ethnic minority audiences to its output would be a good opportunity to create and develop new programs or channels aimed to this ethnic minorities. Notable success include The Canterbury Tales series on BBC One which made extensive use of actors from ethnic minorities and Top Gear which is reflecting the particulary high interest in cars among Asian audiences.
Product placement is another opportunity for the BBC as it can increase its revenue by placing a certain product deliberaty into a program.
Selling these products as well as the high quality of programmes and documentaries abroad to other networks could also be a really important opportunity for the BBC to generate extra revenue.
Threats.
Others TV and Radio competitors is the main threat for the BBC
Digital TV is growing steadily and is estimated to get in the region of 10 million customers by the year 2006. Cable and Digital TV is generally more diverse than terrestrial TV because they have a wider quantity of channels. Digital TV dealers offer deals like free installation and 30 day free trail, which could easily temp someone who is considering getting digital TV anyway. Cable customers could potentially have their phone, TV and internet running through the same wiring, making it a very temping to have for efficiency.
About 30% of UK households subscribe to digital or cable TV, and it is growing. The numbers are relatively low because they are considered luxury items because of the cost of equipment and subscriptions, thus creating a barrier to gain a larger audience. Satellite, digital and cable companies are under constant pressure from viewer to deliver what their customers what to see. If tastes are not satisfied then viewers will cancel subscriptions and funds will dry up, but in spite of this, this is still a serious threat for the BBC.
THE BBC CURRENT MARKETING PLANS
The BBC’s current marketing plan focuses on a number of specific areas, where the BBC hopes to achieve a variety of objectives that will improve the corporation’s image, in this country as well as abroad.
The BBC is trying to increase the range and quality of its radio and television services. More high impact broadcasting is being focused on. More memorable programmes are being developed and created, in particular arts and current affairs.However, there has been a decline in audience perception of the BBC’s quality and work needs to be undertaken to understand this.
The BBC plans to build up and solidify its digital service, providing something for everyone on this service. In particular, provide a wide range of interactive learning opportunities and help to drive digital take-up by extending the availability of the services and focusing on cross-channel commissioning and scheduling. However there is evidence that BBC’s digital services’ output has been strengthened, but more has to be done to ensure that the new services are offering good value for money.
During the past year the range of services and content has been enhanced and marketing effort has been directed at raising awareness of digital platforms and how to access them.
The BBC wishes to bring younger audiences to BBC services by making bold, innovative programmes and contents. It also wants the young people to engage more with the BBC’s news and current affairs, without disminishing the BBC’s commitment to parliamentary reporting.
It is still a priority for the BBC to engage with younger audiences across television, radio and on line, although the BBC was successful in attracting younger audiences in 2003/2004, but during last year the reach of BBC radio has fallen among 15-34 year olds. A pan-BBC project has been iniciated over the last year to understand this audience’s needs better and how the BBC can meet them.
New methods of attracting more of the UK’s ethnic minorities, both through the mainstream and targeted through specially made programmes are needed.
As there is some evidence that BBC is succeding in attracting ethnic minority audiences to its output, effort now needs to focus on ensuring that commissioning and development better reflects the needs of these audiences. This an important thing to be achieved if the BBC is to make programmes as relevant and appealing to Britain’s diverse ethnic minorities as to the population as a whole and so reflect today’s society.
Another BBC’s objective is to ensure that they are meeting the needs of audiences in all nations and regions of the UK. Despite notable successes such as children’s output in Scotland, factual in Wales and drama in Northern Ireland, network television spend in the BBC Nations is still too low as a proportion of total television network spend. Improved strategic collaboration and planning between network commissioners and the BBC Nations & Regions is the key to improving this and the BBC will expect to see evidence of this in the coming year.
Internally the BBC hopes to attract a larger percentage of ethnic minority workers, at low levels up to senior management. Disabled people’s numbers working for the BBC are also being viewed in relation to an increased. The BBC hopes to achieve this by making the BBC come across as a creative, collaborative and exciting organisation, which staff and viewers fully understand and is fully justified.
10% of the BBC’s total workforce is to be of ethnic minority background and 4% of senior management by December 2003. The targets set by the corporation are fully feasible and should come to pass. If they do not, questions should be asked. Although it is an achievable target, ethnic minority people should not be employed simply because the BBC has a target to meet, but because they are the best people for the job. Every organisation has targets like these, mostly to prevent institutional racism throughout the corporation. If this is the goal then it should be achieved without difficulty. The BBC also aims to reflect the audiences it serves in terms of the age and gender of staff. Also the BBC has now established long-term, more stretching targets of 12.5% across all staff and 7% for senior staff by the end of 2007.
The BBC plans to increase the amount of money available to spend on the BBC’s public services by enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of the way the BBC operates. The BBC is reducing the evasion rate by improving the efficiency of license fee collection and this is a considerable achivement. Progress has also been made this year in creating a framework for understanding the effectiveness of the BBC investment in programmes and services.
The BBC values it reputation in the UK and abroad highly, and recognises that having a good reputation can help to sell programmes. The BBC wants to earn greater appreciation from UK audiences in relation to being an open, creative and trusted public service organisation. Public opinion of the BBC has remained broadly positive, despite events surrounding the Hutton Inquiry, but BBC needs to do more to enhance perceptions of the BBC as both creative and an open organisation. To ensure that the BBC retains a high level of public trust, they have forseen reviews of the BBC’s editorial processes, impartiality and its system of governance.
The proportion of the public who believe that the BBC is trustworthy increased significantly over the year, rising from 59% to 72%. However, 18% of the general public said that their perception of the BBC had worsened as a result of the Hutton Inquiry, and among opinion formers, including MP’s this figure was 38%.
The BBC still has some way to go to convince audiences of its creativity; the audiences are more likely to believe that BBC services are safe or predictable than innovate with fresh ideas and here is where the BBC has to find ways to change perceptions.
And the last objective for the BBC is to build on the impact made by the BBC’s global news services through a coordinated global news strategy across radio, television and new media.
BBC World Service and Global News was established at the end of 2002 to maximise the performance and impact of the BBC’s international radio, television and online services. Good progress has also been made towards greater editorial coordination. Overall, research surveys suggest that the impactof the Hutton Report on the BBC’s international reputation has been limited.
APPRAISAL OF MARKET PERFORMANCE
The total BBC Television and Radio reach 92.9% of the UK population 0.2% more than last year. 88.2% of the UK population are reached just by the Television service and 62.8% by the BBC Radio service. ITV1 reaches 78.9% and ITV2 11.3% of the UK population, while Channel 4 reaches 62.1% and Channel 5 43.2%. All Sky channels together reach 29% of the population.
The total broadcasting expenditure was £2,993.6 millions, against the £3,012.4 millions spent last year. BBC 1 received £812.3 millions and BBC 2 received £365.2 millions. Nations and Regions television received £212.3millions, while Nations and Regions Radio received £ 133.4 milions. BBC Radio 1 got £17.6 millions, BBC Radio 2 spent £21.7 millions, BBC Radio 3 spent £32.1 millions, BBC Radio 4 £69.9millions and BBC Radio Five Live received £51.5 millions.
Also the Digital services had a total of 312.2 millions spent on them. This was shared as follows. The CBBC Channel, C Beebies £46.2 millions, BBC THREE £ 99.4 millions, BBC FOUR £35.2 millions, BBC News 24 £23.5 millions, BBC Parliament £2.5 millions, interactive television ( BBCi ) £15.3 millions, I xtra £5.1 millions, BBC Five Live Sports Extra £1.7 millions, BBC 6 Music £4.1 millions, BBC 7 £4.3 millions, BBC Asian Networks £4.1 millions, BBC.CO.UK £66.7 millions and Digital Curriculum received £4.1 millions.
Last year, the rate of licence fee evasion was driven down to 5.7%, from 6.7%; cash-flow from the commercial subsidiaries increased by £11 million to £135m; and additional savings of £29.3m were made in support costs.
In this financial year the public services cash position improved compared to 2002/2003. There were net cash funds of £3million at the end of the year.
Licence fee revenues of £2,798million were £140million higher than last year. £52million was due to inflation, £46million to the above inflation increase in the licence fee and £42million from collection improvements.
The evasion rate fell from 6.3% at March 2003 to 5.7% at March 2004. The previous reported estimate for evasion at March 2003 was 7.2%, with the revision to 6.3% reflecting the new household and Census data.
Continuing success in reducing evasion and controlling collection costs mean that their combined cost has now fallen to 11.1% of total licence fee income, from 18.9% in 1991/1992 when the BBC took direct responsibility for licence fee collection from the Home Office.
In 2003/2004 commercial businesses generated a cash contribution of £135million which was £11million better than the previous year. Savings for the BBC from these businesses also increased to £27million in the year. So in total the contribution from these businesses in 2003/2004 was £162million compared to £147million in the previous year.
These businesses continued to invest in programme rights, new technology and other assets to support future business growth. The businesses operated well within their bank covenants and their separate borrowing ceiling of £350million granted by the Secretary of State. At the year end their net debt was £172million and gearing was 48%. Overall spending on programmes fell in the year by £38million –this was mainly due to 2003/2004 being a year low on major sporting events. Otherwise programme spend on analogue channels stayed level.
Within that, total spending on digital services increased by £20million to £312million, which is 15% of transmitted programme spend. The new digital services BBC Three, 1Xtra and BBC 7 had their first full year of broadcasting and accordingly saw increases in expenditure. Spend on bbc.co.uk reduced during the year in order to allow more investment in interactive television (BBCi). Expenditure on overheads in the year was £326million, a small increase of £4million. Overheads are now down to 12% of spending which is 3% better than the target of 15% set in the summer of 2000 following the licence fee settlement.
