BBC

This article is about the public service broadcaster. For its forerunner/predecessor, see British Broadcasting Company. For other uses, see BBC (disambiguation).
"The Beeb" redirects here. For other uses, see Beeb.

British Broadcasting Corporation
Company typeStatutory corporation with a royal charter, public broadcasting[a]
IndustryMass media
PredecessorBritish Broadcasting Company
Founded18 October 1922; 102 years ago (1922-10-18) (as British Broadcasting Company)
1 January 1927; 97 years ago (1927-01-01) (as British Broadcasting Corporation)
FounderGovernment of the United Kingdom
HeadquartersBroadcasting House
London, England
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Products
Services
RevenueDecrease £5.389 billion (2024)[3]
Decrease £199 million (2024)[3]
Increase £229 million (2024)[3]
Total assetsDecrease £1.976 billion (2024)[3]
Number of employees
Increase 21,918 (2024)[3]
Divisions
Websitebbc.com Edit this at Wikidata
BBC
UK-wide
Management
Departments
Nations and regions
Commercial subsidiaries
History
Key properties in London
Birmingham
Cardiff
Other locations

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current state with its current name on New Year's Day 1927. The oldest and largest local and global broadcaster by stature and by number of employees, the BBC employs over 21,000 staff in total, of whom approximately 17,200 are in public-sector broadcasting.[3][4][5][6][7]

The BBC was established under a royal charter,[8] and operates under an agreement with the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport.[9] Its work is funded principally by an annual television licence fee[10] which is charged to all British households, companies, and organisations using any type of equipment to receive or record live television broadcasts or to use the BBC's streaming service, iPlayer.[11] The fee is set by the British Government, agreed by Parliament,[12] and is used to fund the BBC's radio, TV, and online services covering the nations and regions of the UK. Since 1 April 2014, it has also funded the BBC World Service (launched in 1932 as the BBC Empire Service), which broadcasts in 28 languages and provides comprehensive TV, radio, and online services in Arabic and Persian.

Some of the BBC's revenue comes from its commercial subsidiary BBC Studios (formerly BBC Worldwide), which sells BBC programmes and services internationally and also distributes the BBC's international 24-hour English-language news services BBC News, and from BBC.com, provided by BBC Global News Ltd.[13][14] In 2009, the company was awarded the Queen's Award for Enterprise in recognition of its international achievements in business.[15]

Since its formation in 1922, the BBC has played a prominent role in British life and culture.[16] It is sometimes informally referred to as the Beeb or Auntie.[17][18] In 1923 it launched Radio Times (subtitled "The official organ of the BBC"), the first broadcast listings magazine; the 1988 Christmas edition sold 11 million copies, the biggest-selling edition of any British magazine in history.[19]

  1. ^ "British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)". State Media Monitor. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
  2. ^ "Typology". State Media Monitor. Retrieved 6 April 2024.: The State Media Monitor differentiates between seven different degrees of state media outlets: 1. Independent Public Media; 2. Independent State Managed/Owned Media; 3. Independent State Funded Media; 4. Independent State Funded and State Managed/Owned Media; 5. Captured Private Media; 6. Captured Public or State Managed/Owned Media; 7. State Controlled Media
  3. ^ a b c d e f "BBC Group Annual Report and Accounts 2023/24" (PDF). BBC. 24 July 2024. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
  4. ^ "BBC History – The BBC takes to the Airwaves". BBC News. Retrieved 19 July 2007.
  5. ^ "BBC: World's largest broadcaster & Most trusted media brand". Media Newsline. 13 August 2009. Archived from the original on 5 October 2010. Retrieved 23 September 2010.
  6. ^ Lloyd, John (4 July 2009). "Digital licence". Prospect. Archived from the original on 7 November 2011. Retrieved 23 September 2010.
  7. ^ "About the BBC – What is the BBC". BBC. Archived from the original on 16 January 2010. Retrieved 23 September 2010.
  8. ^ Andrews, Leighton (2005). Harris, Phil; Fleisher, Craig S. (eds.). "A UK Case: Lobbying for a new BBC Charter". The Handbook of Public Affairs. SAGE: 247–48. doi:10.4135/9781848608108.n16. ISBN 978-0-7619-4393-8.
  9. ^ "BBC – Governance – Annual Report 2013/14". BBC. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
  10. ^ "BBC Annual Report & Accounts 2008/9: Financial Performance". BBC. Archived from the original on 10 February 2010. Retrieved 12 February 2010.
  11. ^ "Legislation and policy". TV Licensing. Archived from the original on 29 January 2010. Retrieved 12 February 2010.
  12. ^ "TV Licence Fee: facts & figures" (Press release). BBC Press Office. 2010. Archived from the original on 7 September 2010. Retrieved 12 February 2010.
  13. ^ Williams, Christopher (20 December 2016). "BBC Studios wins go-ahead for commercial production push". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022.
  14. ^ "BBC Global News Ltd to Be Everywhere" (Press release). BBC Media Centre. June 2015. Archived from the original on 19 October 2023. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
  15. ^ Shearman, Sarah (21 April 2009). "BBC Worldwide wins Queen's Enterprise award". MediaWeek. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 27 June 2019.
  16. ^ Potter, Simon J. (2022). This Is the BBC Entertaining the Nation, Speaking for Britain, 1922–2022. Oxford University Press. the significant impact that the BBC has had on the social and cultural history of Britain
  17. ^ "Jack Jackson: Rhythm And Radio Fun Remembered" (Press release). BBC Media Centre. February 2017. Archived from the original on 26 June 2019. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
  18. ^ "Top of the Pops 2 – Top 5". BBC. Archived from the original on 26 June 2019. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
  19. ^ "Longest running TV magazine a collector's favourite". Lancashire Evening Post. Retrieved 16 August 2024.


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