Recommendation 10

Funded by the licence fee and FCDO grant-in-aid, total BBC World Service funding has fallen 21% in real terms over the period 2021–22 to 2025–26. In response to falling real-terms funding, the Service has been implementing its savings programmes since 2022–23.19 This has contributed to a decrease in audience numbers of 52 million (15%) over the period 2021–22 to 2024–25.20 The World Service’s audience is concentrated in markets where media freedoms are low and digital infrastructure is weaker, which shapes how its service is delivered: for example, in Afghanistan around 80% of Dari language reach is via radio.21 In addition, the BBC told us the Service now operates amid an intensifying geopolitical contest for information, with state-backed rivals “flooding the zone” and expanding investment.22