A thriving BBC for today and tomorrow

It is an honour to have been appointed Director-General and to lead this incredible organisation.

As a lifelong fan of the BBC, it has been a privilege to get to know our teams in my first weeks in the role and to have the chance to witness the world-class expertise and teamwork behind the output first-hand.

It has all underlined what an extraordinary, priceless asset the BBC is for all of us. It has shaped who we are as a country and how the world sees us. It has shaped me too. In an accelerating world of limitless choice, its trust, reach and creative strength are unrivalled.

This Annual Report covers a period that was under Tim Davie’s leadership, and I would like to pay tribute to what he achieved in his time as Director-General. I listened carefully to his final speech in March and firmly support the case he made for a BBC that can fulfil its vital public service role by being bold enough to own the future instead of being trapped by the past.

Today, the BBC has never been more needed – on the side of the audience as their most trusted news provider, the cornerstone of our creative economy, and a force that brings people together. At a time of great flux and uncertainty, people here and around the world need us to meet the moment with courage and vision.

This report includes countless examples of how the BBC’s brilliant creative, editorial and technical people come together to meet the moment every day.

From local, national and international reporting that audiences have relied on, to outstanding creative content they have enjoyed in their millions, to coverage of events and moments that have brought them together, these pages show all the ways in which the BBC has delivered on its mission and public purposes over the past year.

I am particularly struck by the strength of the story we have to tell on shifting the BBC away from London and supporting the creative economy across the UK’s Nations and regions. This report highlights the extent to which the BBC’s Across the UK programme has continued to support the growth of UK creative clusters.

The wider impact of this should never be underestimated. So many people trained or inspired by the BBC go on to contribute brilliantly elsewhere, and I’ve seen for myself how critical that creative investment is for the UK at home and also worldwide. If you travel internationally, you know how often people share, unprompted, their love for and trust in the BBC.

I know we face real challenges. This report reflects them clearly. In an increasingly fragmented and contested world, trust in institutions and news organisations is under strain. The BBC is no exception – not helped by significant, high-profile editorial failings in the past year. It is vital that the BBC puts its hand up and apologises when it makes mistakes and is always fully accountable, transparent in its response and open to rigorous scrutiny.

In this context, the BBC remains by some distance the UK’s most trusted provider of fact-checked, accurate reporting and content, as well as the world’s most trusted provider of international news. And the extent to which our world-class journalism is relied upon both here and around the world is laid out in these pages.

There is also the challenge of a global media landscape that has never been more intensely competitive. The BBC’s reach and relationship with audiences has held up remarkably well in recent years, thanks largely to the strength of our creative output. But it is under growing pressure as audience habits shift at pace and we need to be equally rapid in our response.

Finally, there is the financial challenge – the need to make significant savings in the short term and to secure a sustainable, long-term future. We know we face a decline in licence fee sales, combined with cost inflation and a challenging commercial market. This is why, at the end of the financial year, the BBC began to announce necessary changes.

Making the savings we require will not be easy and will inevitably have an impact on what we make and how we deliver it. We have to ask ourselves, honestly: if we were inventing the BBC today, what would we do? Then respond with clarity, pace and purpose.

The BBC has proved throughout its history how quickly it can reinvent itself to serve the needs of audiences – from restructuring for World War II to repurposing during Covid to spinning up services in conflict zones. We need, collectively, to call on that sense of urgency now.

That means moving with velocity and clarity. Excellence at the BBC has always been founded on great, creative storytelling and brilliant, independent journalism. Today it also means making sure we get the right stories in the right formats on the right platforms.

We must be where audiences are, and experiment more bravely: test ideas, learn quickly and back what works. Audiences will value the fact we are listening, innovating and working hard to serve them better.

In my first weeks, my focus has been on three priorities.

First, making the strongest possible case for the BBC as part of the Charter process. The response to the Government’s Green Paper that we published in March was clear on the need for the Charter to make the bold choices that will secure the BBC’s future and deliver a long-term funding solution. I will continue to work closely with the government on this shared ambition in the weeks and months ahead.

Second, focusing on editorial excellence. We need to empower the bold journalism and storytelling that define the BBC at its best.

That means ensuring, in an ever more complex world, that the right leadership, support and setup are in place for this work to flourish. Editorial excellence is the very foundation on which the BBC’s reputation has been built. We must never allow our duty to take risks and deliver quality to be undermined by unnecessary process or misplaced caution.

Third, moving with increased velocity. This means being clear on our priorities, making the savings we must and the choices we should, and simplifying the BBC for staff and audiences alike.

Our goal is a thriving BBC, equipped to serve for today and tomorrow. Reinventing the BBC to fulfil its mission for audiences in a complex, fast-moving world is our duty and our challenge.

We need to rise to meet the moment by bringing together enduring public service values with creative and editorial excellence, innovation and courage. We need a BBC that is simpler, faster and more connected with audiences than ever. This will be my focus in the year ahead.