Recommendation 16

Alongside PSB savings, the BBC sought to increase returns from its commercial arm. BBC Commercial achieved record sales of £2.2 billion in 2024–25, up from £1.9 billion the previous year, and the NAO concluded that BBC Studios had succeeded in delivering increasing returns by adapting to a changing market.29 The BBC has committed to delivering £1.5 billion in commercial returns over five years by 2027–28.30 The BBC explained how these returns are generated, primarily through dividends and investment in programming from BBC Studios, and emphasised that creating and exploiting new IP was a key lever in its overall commercial performance.31 However, while the BBC publicly reported progress against its public service savings target, it did not report in its 2024–25 Annual Report 27 BBC Group Annual Report and Accounts 2024–25, p. 9, 12, 58 28 Qq 36, 37 29 BBC Group Annual Report and Accounts 2024–25, p. 9, 12, 58 30 BBC, BBC Group Annual Report and Accounts 2024–25, p. 81 31 Qq 38, 43-44 11 and Accounts on progress towards its commercial returns target of £1.5 billion for 2022–23 to 2027–28, despite telling us it had achieved £1 billion to date.32 The BBC acknowledged this omission during our evidence session and committed to providing clearer reporting on this target in future years. We note that the previous reporting of commercial returns lacked clarity, making it difficult for Parliament to assess performance against strategic objectives.33