In an interview for The Rest Is Entertainment podcast, hosted by Richard Osman and Marina Hyde, outgoing BBC Director-General Tim Davie argues that the BBC remains a vital public-service institution in a media landscape transformed by global streamers, political pressure and declining trust.

He also shared his thoughts on the licence fee model, and the funding of the BBC World Service.

Responding to a question about whether the scale of investment from global streamers could mean the BBC no longer exists in ten years’ time, and about the biggest challenges facing the corporation as television continues to evolve over the next decade, Davie said: “I think sometimes you know the BBC’s thought it’s in jeopardy historically and being contentious about it you’re not really in jeopardy. I mean the DG may resign or something big might happen but if you’ve got two out of four TV channels you have to be doing a pretty poor job not to get an audience and I think what I’ve tried to do in my tenure is say: let’s not worry too much about that – let’s really worry about the value and your point which is this is now infinite choice, I mean I’ve got probably more computing power in my car than the whole of Croydon had when I was growing up and some.”

“So I think in that environment you then say, it goes to the heart of the question again, what are you doing differently? Now to your point it is existential. I don’t think the BBC’s got a right to exist in that way. It has to absolutely deliver value to every household. The exam question for me is not whether the BBC exists actually in the next phase. It is whether it is a market failure, forgive the jargon, but a market failure BBC; almost a charity project on the side funded by general taxation or whatever it is where people don’t feel participative – as opposed to a funding model and currently 94 per cent of Brits are using this every month, 83 per cent I think the week I saw last. That’s pretty incredible and what it allows you to do is make the case for a universal funding mechanic where everyone feels connected and looking for value. That’s different to a market failure model. I rail against those people who say it can be just news. That’s not what we’re trying to build here.”

When quizzed on the licence fee model, Davie said: “We’re at a consultation phase, but we have set out a very clear preference which is and I would do this to the point about restarting where we’re at – I think there is a model which says: look, if we can deliver value for every household and really work at that, then everyone contributes fairly, and I think that is a model that’s worth fighting for. I don’t see it as something potentially trapped in the past. I actually think it could be something exciting for the future – quite enlightened. You don’t have to go exactly where the market is going currently. You have to make markets, and I think we can do that.”

Davie also admitted that he believed putting the BBC World Service costs on the licence fee was a mistake, noting: “I think it’s government. I think, look, you can cost – terrible words – but you can cost recover through a bit of appropriate advertising on the news channel, you know, in the right market. But honestly, if you’re going to be out there in Afghanistan, if you’re going to have the Persian service, this is not – we’re the best – I mean, I’m all for it. We built a £2 billion commercial arm, we’re making money wherever we can appropriately, but there’s not money in the news business in this way. And if you want to make money in the news business, you might just get out alive and make some by having a subscription business in the US, which we’re trying. But you’re not going to do the World Service without government funding. And do I think it was a mistake to put it on the BBC licence fee payer? Absolutely. It was.”

The full YouTube version of the episode will go live 8am today [March 12th].

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Categories: Articles, Broadcast, Policy, Regulation

Tags: BBC, Licence fee, Tim Davie