BBC ANNUAL PLAN 2021/22 March 2021 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. FOREWORD ........................................................................................................................................................... 3 2. THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON THE BBC, AUDIENCES AND INDUSTRY ..................................................................... 5 3. THE BBC’S STRATEGIC AND CREATIVE PRIORITIES ................................................................................................ 15 4. THE BBC’S FINANCIAL CONTEXT AND 2021/22 OUTLINE BUDGET ......................................................................... 36 5. POTENTIAL CHANGES TO THE BBC’S PUBLIC AND COMMERCIAL SERVICES ........................................................... 40 ANNEX 1: MEASURING THE PERFORMANCE OF THE BBC .......................................................................................... 42 ANNEX 2: THE BBC’S COMMITMENT TO DELIVERING ITS PUBLIC PURPOSES ............................................................ 46 ANNEX 3: GOVERNANCE AND GENERAL DUTIES ....................................................................................................... 63 2 1. FOREWORD As we publish this year’s BBC Annual Plan the lockdown restrictions put in place to combat the Covid pandemic have begun to be eased across the country. We, like the rest of the UK, are hopeful that something close to normality will return in the coming months, and that friends, families and communities will be reunited after a hard year apart. The Covid pandemic has been the biggest challenge this country has faced in recent history. Over 100,000 people have lost their lives in the UK and many more have been seriously ill. The pandemic has impacted every part of the UK – affecting families and communities; education and healthcare; businesses and the wider economy. The creative industry has been hit hard. Artists, freelancers, venues and companies across the breadth of the creative sector have been significantly affected. Projects and productions have been halted; festivals and live performances have been cancelled. The BBC has played a crucial role in supporting the UK during this unprecedented period. This has only been possible due to the tireless commitment and continued inventiveness of our staff and those who work with us. Despite the challenges of operating during the pandemic they have not only maintained a full range of BBC services but brought new programmes, stories and services to audiences. We have done more when needed most. We rapidly expanded our educational offer to support young people, parents and teachers. We challenged misinformation on Covid and vaccinations. We launched temporary local radio stations in key areas to help communities through lockdown and delivered hundreds of live music performances; first from homes and then from live venues as restrictions allowed. We supported the industry and worked in parternship with other media organisations to ensure production could continue. We have ensured the UK remained informed, educated and entertained, and every day of the crisis tens of millions turned to the BBC. The audience response over the last 12 months has reinforced the importance of the BBC. Almost three-quarters of the UK public say that the BBC is a national institution to be proud of and over three-quarters say the BBC is important to people in the UK. As we emerge from the Covid pandemic, the BBC will continue to play its part supporting the Nation. We will help rebuild the creative economy. We will maintain many of the critical services – like our education offer – that have been vital for audiences over the last 12 months. And we will inform, educate and entertain the UK with a brilliant year of programming. From an amazing year of sporting events like the European Football Championships and Wimbledon to fantastic drama like the return of Line of Duty and new series like Conversations with Friends. From ground-breaking natural history like The Green Planet and Dynasties II to the best in live music performances including the BBC Proms concerts on TV and radio. But, now more than ever, it is critical that the BBC transforms for the long-term. Audience support for the BBC is strong. We have been able to maintain this public support through a constant process of change and renewal and must continue to evolve. In particular, the BBC must respond to the long-term changes in the media market and the changes brought, and accelerated, by the Covid pandemic. These include the increased influence of US-based, global media services and the risk to British culture that brings. These challenges are set out in Chapter 2. Earlier this month we began to set out our plan to transform the BBC over the remainder of the Charter period. Our six-year plan will deliver the biggest programme of reform since the 1990s and help restore the UK’s creative economy after the pandemic. The plan covers five points: • Getting closer to audiences across the country, through a bold transformation to serve the whole UK, its Nations, regions and communities 3 • Protecting and nurturing our democracy and civil debate, by championing impartial news and reflecting all views, opinions and identities across the UK • Stimulating the UK’s creative sector, through spreading TV, radio and online production and commissioning across the UK and building creative and digital partnerships • Providing learning and skills to all, through an ambitious programme of formal and informal learning, career development and apprenticeships • Delivering impact across the world, tackling propaganda and misinformation and reflecting the UK’s culture and values. We have already laid out in detail our plans for the first of these five points – getting closer to audiences across the country. In The BBC Across the UK we described how we will transform the BBC by making a decisive shift in its footprint, turning the BBC into a genuinely UK-wide organisation with a much stronger presence across the length and breadth of the country. Doing so will increase the value we bring audiences across the UK and help the creative sector recover from the devastating effects of the pandemic, bringing cumulative extra investment of at least £700m by 2027/28 to the UK’s Nations and regions, and driving an additional estimated economic benefit of around £850m. We will begin to implement our plans where we can during 21/22. Chapter 3 outlines each of the five points above in more detail alongside our strategic and creative plans for the coming year. Chapter 4 sets out the BBC’s financial context and budget for the year ahead. In line with many organisations across the UK, the Covid pandemic affected our finances in 2020/21 and continues to make the year ahead uncertain. At the start of the pandemic we put in place measures to deliver £125m of additional savings and we also took the decision to delay implementation of the new over-75s policy. By the end of 20/21 we will have delivered c£880m of annual recurring savings since 16/17 – beating our £800m savings target a year earlier than planned. In 21/22, we expect our ongoing savings total to rise above £950m. We have also maintained our overheads at less than 5% of our total costs. This is industry-leading and we continue to make the BBC a leaner organisation. Chapter 5 clearly sets out our plans for the year ahead so that competitors and Ofcom, our regulator, can understand our proposals. For transparency we are also setting out, for the first time, the potential changes to our commercial activities that may require assessment for materiality. We also set out an updated performance framework for the BBC in Annex 1 and, in Annex 2, a new approach to demonstrating how the BBC intends to promote our Public Purposes during 21/22. We will report against both the performance metrics in Annex 1 and commitments in Annex 2 in our Annual Report for 2021/22. Together these changes address issues raised by Ofcom in their Annual Report on the BBC last year and we look forward to working with Ofcom on its review of the BBC’s Operating Licence this year. Despite an abundance of global services and intense competition, the BBC is needed more than ever. Our unique mission and purposes set us apart and we are a vital part of a modern UK. Transforming the BBC is critical to maintaining this role and we have ambitious and exciting plans for the coming years. These changes will build a BBC that provides our audiences with even more value and help rebuild a thriving creative sector. Richard Sharp, Chairman Tim Davie, Director-General 4 2. THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON THE BBC, AUDIENCES AND INDUSTRY The Covid pandemic has been amongst the most challenging periods in the UK’s history. It has led to the death of over 100,000 people and serious illness for many more. It has altered everyday life for nearly everyone, impacting families and communities across the Nation. It has caused serious economic harm, and inflicted severe damage on the UK’s world-leading creative industry. Since the start of the crisis the BBC has supported the UK through an unprecedented response across our TV, Radio and Online services. Audiences have embraced the BBC’s offer over the last year, tuning in to our programmes and services in huge numbers. Pan-BBC average weekly reach has remained above 90% over the last 12 months, with monthly reach at 97% on average. 77% of UK adults describe the BBC as important to people in the UK for media. We have also seen record use of our online services as audiences embraced on-demand services during lockdowns – 33 million UK adults have come to BBC Online on average per week. That the BBC was able not only to maintain our business-as-usual services but also to expand our offer at a time of crisis, is testament to the commitment, resilience and ingenuity of our staff and partners, and the importance of strong, resilient institutions. At a time when production of TV, Radio and Online content has been hugely impacted by lockdowns, closures and social distancing, our teams have found new and inventive ways to bring stories to audiences when they have needed them most.