Lords committee calls for “bold” approach to BBC tech funding

The committee set out its proposals for the BBC in a letter to Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy ahead of publication of the government’s white paper. 

The committee says this is not a “routine” Charter review and that the 2028 Charter must equip the BBC to navigate dramatic changes in how public service media is distributed, discovered, and consumed. 

The committee examined proposals in the government’s BBC Charter Review Green Paper, concluding that the corporation is already under significant financial pressure. 

It said that any new or expanded responsibilities, in areas such as technological innovation, promoting regional growth or media literacy, must be matched by adequate funding or a clear acknowledgement that the BBC will have to do less in other areas.  

The committee said that if the government gives the BBC a new or strengthened duty for technology and R&D in the next charter, it should be “framed around innovation in the public interest and clearly linked to the broadcaster’s mission and public purposes.” 

It also said that collaboration will become increasingly important for public service media providers to compete with global platforms. It welcomed discussions between the BBC and Channel 4 about an expanded iPlayer.  

The committee noted that broadcast TV reached 92% of people in the UK each week on average in 2015, compared to just 54% last year. It said the BBC will increasingly need to distribute content through third-party platforms such as YouTube but noted that this would come at the expense of control over how content is presented, access to audience data, and the BBC’s direct relationship with audiences. “The new Charter should support both strong BBC-owned services and flexible third-party distribution.” 

The committee also called for stronger safeguards on prominence, data access, platform accountability, and fair value. It said the government should set clear minimum expectations for agreements between public service media providers and video-sharing platforms, backed by new legislation if voluntary agreements prove insufficient. 

It said there is no obvious benefit in giving the BBC a broad new public purpose to drive economic growth across the UK, as the government has proposed. “The BBC already contributes £6.7bn to the UK economy, and there is a risk that such a change could distort commissioning priorities and distract the BBC from its core public service objectives.”  

Baroness Keeley, Chair, Communications, Digital Committee, commented: “The upcoming BBC Charter Review is fundamental for the future of public service media in the UK. It comes as national public broadcasters face ever greater competition for viewers from streaming platforms and international technology giants, and so cannot be designed in isolation from the Government’s wider digital and media policy.  

“The government should use the BBC Charter Review White Paper to set out a coherent and ambitious strategy for public service media over the next decade. It must also be realistic about what can be asked of the BBC as it grapples with significant financial pressures.” 

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