Recommendations & Conclusions
17 items
2
Recommendation
Forty-Sixth Report - BBC Digital
Deferred
The BBC has a high-level plan in place for its £500 million of annual savings and reinvestment into digital, but it is unclear whether this will cover its new ambition to transition to an internet-only future in the 2030s. Following its January 2022 licence fee settlement with government, the BBC …
Government response. The government states that the BBC will respond directly to the Committee regarding the recommendations in the report, which includes this recommendation addressed to the BBC.
HM Treasury
3
Recommendation
Forty-Sixth Report - BBC Digital
Deferred
The BBC faces a significant challenge in a very competitive market to recruit and retain staff with the right digital skills. The BBC had a 23% staff turnover rate in its digital product group as of June 2022. Shortages of digital skills are an economy-wide challenge that is not unique …
Government response. The government acknowledges the report and states that the BBC will write directly to the Committee regarding the recommendations, implicitly passing responsibility to the BBC for this recommendation.
HM Treasury
4
Recommendation
Forty-Sixth Report - BBC Digital
Deferred
The BBC’s approach to how it will develop personalised services for audiences is not yet well developed. The BBC wants to personalise its products and services such that audiences can access content that is of interest to them, while also fulfilling its public service obligations. The BBC sees this as …
Government response. The government states that the BBC will write directly to the Committee regarding the recommendation to develop a personalization strategy and report on its progress.
HM Treasury
7
Conclusion
Forty-Sixth Report - BBC Digital
Deferred
At our evidence session in January 2023, the Director-General reiterated to us the need for urgency and how, by any forecast of the future, the vast majority of media consumption will be via the internet.8 However, he also told us that, in his December speech, he had been deliberately provocative, …
Government response. The government notes the report's publication and states that the BBC will write directly to the Committee regarding the report's recommendations.
HM Treasury
9
Conclusion
Forty-Sixth Report - BBC Digital
Deferred
The BBC also acknowledged the four recommendations in the NAO report, one of which was to build on its December 2022 announcement and plan scenarios for how it could move between broadcast and internet services in the future. It said that those recommendations were extremely helpful, appropriately challenging, and that …
Government response. The government states that the BBC will write directly to the Committee regarding the recommendations in the report.
HM Treasury
10
Conclusion
Forty-Sixth Report - BBC Digital
Deferred
We raised the question of education for people, typically older people, who are not familiar or confident with adopting what may be new technology to them. The BBC stressed its universality obligation to ensure that content is accessible. It also said it was critical that there was focus and prioritisation …
Government response. The government states that the BBC will respond directly to the Committee regarding the recommendations in the report.
HM Treasury
11
Conclusion
Forty-Sixth Report - BBC Digital
Deferred
Good quality access to online services will rely of course on the roll-out of broadband, overseen by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport. We noted that the BBC’s universal service commitments could not be met with current broadband provision.16 The BBC highlighted that with a perfect broadband service, …
Government response. The government states that the BBC will respond directly to the Committee regarding the recommendations in the report.
HM Treasury
12
Conclusion
Forty-Sixth Report - BBC Digital
Deferred
Following its January 2022 licence fee settlement with government, the BBC estimated that it would have a funding gap of £285 million a year by 2027–28, and that it needs to deliver £500 million of annual savings and reinvestment to achieve its digital- first ambitions. This funding gap was calculated …
Government response. The government states that the BBC will respond directly to the Committee regarding the recommendations in the report.
HM Treasury
13
Conclusion
Forty-Sixth Report - BBC Digital
Deferred
The BBC’s spending on its product development has also declined, from £109 million in 2018–19 to £98 million in 2021–22 (in 2021–22 prices). However, due to the renewed focus on the growth of its digital products, the BBC has budgeted £116 million to spend within its product group in 2022–23 …
Government response. The government states that the BBC will respond directly to the Committee regarding the recommendations in the report.
HM Treasury
14
Conclusion
Forty-Sixth Report - BBC Digital
Deferred
The BBC’s spending on digital product development is far lower than many other media organisations, many of which are digital-only, though direct spending comparisons are problematic. Additionally, the BBC has a range of universal service obligations that other media firms do not, and provides a range of services that its …
Government response. The government states that the BBC will respond directly to the Committee regarding the recommendations in the report.
HM Treasury
21
Conclusion
Forty-Sixth Report - BBC Digital
Deferred
The BBC told us that last year had been really difficult for attracting people. It cited the particular consequences of the covid pandemic for the technology market, with international organisations starting to offer remote working contracts, giving potential employees, for example in the Salford area, more options, with salaries rising …
Government response. The government states that the BBC will respond directly to the Committee regarding the recommendations in the report.
HM Treasury
22
Conclusion
Forty-Sixth Report - BBC Digital
Deferred
The BBC considered there may be an increasing sense developing of people wanting to ‘reconnect with purpose’ and of that being a material consideration for people when choosing who they wished to work for; implying that the BBC could benefit from that sort of preference.38 The BBC stressed how it …
Government response. The government states that the BBC will respond directly to the Committee regarding the recommendations in the report.
HM Treasury
23
Conclusion
Forty-Sixth Report - BBC Digital
Deferred
Over the past nine years, the BBC has signalled that it sees offering a more personalised experience as important to its future plans and key to this is sign-in, whereby users register for and use a BBC account to access digital services. In September 2021, it produced a sign-in strategy, …
Government response. The government notes the report's publication and states that the BBC will write directly to the Committee regarding the report's recommendations.
HM Treasury
24
Conclusion
Forty-Sixth Report - BBC Digital
Deferred
Through sign-in, the BBC can collect personal information about its users to understand their preferences. When used alongside recommendation algorithms, this should provide a user experience tailored to their individual preferences. The BBC does not believe that it is possible to compete digitally without knowing users’ viewing habits. However, while …
Government response. The government states that the BBC will respond directly to the Committee regarding the recommendations in the report.
HM Treasury
25
Conclusion
Forty-Sixth Report - BBC Digital
Deferred
The BBC told us that it tried to make the sign-up process as simple as possible, while at the same time giving the user control, and was very conscious of accessibility and different digital familiarity levels.45 The BBC described to us how it was vital to help users find what …
Government response. The government acknowledges the report's publication and states that the BBC will write directly to the Committee regarding the recommendations in the report.
HM Treasury
29
Conclusion
Forty-Sixth Report - BBC Digital
Deferred
The BBC welcomed the recommendations made by the NAO which included on managing potential data risk and said it was taking action on oversight and policy. It outlined some actions taken in recent years to improve its approach, stressed that these things were key parts of the organisation, and that …
Government response. The government states that the BBC will write directly to the Committee regarding the recommendations in the report.
HM Treasury
30
Conclusion
Forty-Sixth Report - BBC Digital
Deferred
The BBC told us it has had no data breaches that it has had to report to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) this financial year. It has reported 27 data breaches since April 2020 and told us that the ICO had not taken any enforcement action against the BBC in …
Government response. The government states that the BBC will write directly to the Committee regarding the recommendations in the report.
HM Treasury