The BBC in the UK provides blissful oases in the media that are free from the constant onslaught of advertising that we are faced with in our modern world – whether that be on television, on radio, or online – with the services instead funded by a yearly license fee per household. Abroad, however, the BBC has maintained two distinct arms in BBC Worldwide and the BBC World Service – one commercial and one as a worldwide public service – but the lines are about to get very blurred with the introductions of advertising on some parts of the World Service.
BBC Worldwide, as the commercial arm, is the subsidiary of the BBC that runs a premium subscription television channel in the US, BBC.com, and sells the BBC’s content such as comedies, drama, and live recordings to television or radio networks across the globe. It is designed to generate profit for the BBC, and while it may sometimes step over the mark, such as with the acquisition of Lonely Planet, its role is commercial pure and simple.
BBC World Service, in contrast, is a remnant of the days of empire when Britain was the most powerful country in the world, and as such we offered free and unbiased news and analysis to people across the globe – broadcasting honest and accurate news to penetrate regimes otherwise hostile or tyrannical. It gave many people an attachment to the rest of the world that their governments did not want them to hear – and it was all paid for by the Foreign Office.
As Britain’s influence, military and political, has declined on the world stage – the World Service has been one of our nation’s best sources of soft power. It still gives people across the globe access to honest and accurate news reporting from within countries where their governments repress any such reporting within their borders, and makes Britain out to be a country of freedoms and fairness – a character we could do better to live up to – but nonetheless very useful when we need to negotiate on the international stage. The Arab Springs may have been aided by Facebook, Twitter, and the rise of Al Jazeera – but the World Service has kept these ideals of freedom alive and smouldering through decades of repression.
The most recent BBC budget deal, however, looks to have changed the possibility of such a role continuing as we now start to see some of its effects be put into action. The BBC was forced to take over funding of the World Service as part of the package alongside real-terms budget cuts and a license fee freeze – which has resulted in some difficult decisions for the BBC, but their priorities are different to those of the Foreign Office – something the current Conservative/Liberal Democrat Coalition have failed to see. Unlike the Foreign Office, which at its core is there to help British citizens abroad as well as promote the country’s profile and power on the world stage, the BBC’s mandate has no such ideals for the country as a whole.
This change in focus can be seen in the latest announcement that some websites and radio stations are to run advertising in order to generate £3 million by 2013/14 after a £46 million per year budget cut to the service that has resulted in more than 600 job losses. A spokesperson may have called the change a “careful and measured approach”, but it demonstrates a huge swing in aims for the service. Part of the reason that the BBC is seen as free and fair in its reporting is that it is not beholden to sponsors – difficult news will not be held back because it could conflict with the ideas of a major advertiser – something all commercial news organisations struggle with. Even if the ad-selling and content were completely separate, to the listener in a foreign country it will simply now blend into any of the other stations beholden to commercial interests.
The introduction of advertising may appear superficial – but it is the reputation of the World Service that is nearly as important in convincing people of its honest reporting as the actual content. Without it, Britain’s remaining flames of influence will be dampened, and people will start to look elsewhere for a democratic society to emulate. I hope its was worth the few million Mr Hunt.
[via PaidContent]