ASY1 Media Component 1 Section B Industry BBC and public service broadcasting

1. Mean to YOU?
What does the Task: Write down
three
words/ideas/things
that you associate
with the BBC on your
post it note and stick
it to the white board.

2. AS Media
Component 1: Investigating the Media
Section B: Industry
The BBC and Public Service Broadcasting

3. Aims:
To develop knowledge and understanding of key aspects
of media industries, including the significance of
ownership and funding, regulation and the impact of
technology, and global production and distribution.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUPxDOG-
YGRCsQkdX1OJ-oFV3AY8SPg9D

4. Objectives:
Know about the history of the BBC. and how it is funded
Understand the principles of Public Service Broadcasting
Identify the ways in which the BBC’s PSB commitment is
demonstrated in the case study “Radio 4 Late Night Women’s
Hour”.
Discuss issues and current debates surrounding the BBC’s future.

5. Mean to YOU?
What does the

6. BBC – A Brief History
1922 Starts as British
Broadcasting Company.
Radio Only. Funded by
radio licence and
royalties from sales of
radios.
1927 became British
Broadcasting Corporation
with public service
remit. Established by
Royal Charter.
1936 BBC Television
Service begins.
Suspended 1939-1945
1955 ITV, first
commercial channel
launched to end
monopoly. Funded by
advertising. PSB remit.
Followed by BBC2
(1964), Channel 4 (1982)
and Channel 5 (1997)

7. BBC – A Brief History
2007 – Launch BBC
iPlayer, VoD service.
2012 UK TV Digital
switchover complete
(funded by licence fee)
2013 Launch of BBC
digital channels: BBC 3,
BBC4, CBBC, Cbeebies,
BBC News (24hr), BBC
Parliament, BBC Alba.
Other Services?
Radio: 11 national (7DAB), plu
many local stations
BBC Online (6/UK, 91/World).
BBC Worldwide (commercial
arm, selling BBC content).
International channels
including: BBC America, BBC
Nordics, BBC Persian
UKTV – joint venture including
Freeview channels Dave, Goo
Food, Watch, Yesterday…
Magazines, Merchandising,
etc.

9. BBC – Today!
World’s first and today’s largest national broadcaster (by
number of employees), producing most of the UK’s favourite
TV and radio.
31 of 2016’s top 40 most watched TV programmes were on
BBC1.
What do you think were they?

11. No X-Factor in the top 40!
Final 8.4 million
Sherlock (New Year’s day)
8.4 million
(Biggest festive audience)

12. Most watched shows
last year?
• 2018: https://tellymix.co.uk/ratings/359373-most-watched-tv-shows-
2018.html

13. The BBC is primarily funded by the licence fee, which costs users
£150.50 per year
Q. Who has to pay the licence fee?
a.Everyone in UK.
b.Anyone who has a television set or radio
c.Anyone who watches ‘live’ TV as it is broadcast or TV that was
recorded ‘live’, or uses BBC iPlayer for ‘catch-up’
d.Anyone who watches any television programme or film on a TV,
online or DVD/Blu-Ray.
e.Anyone that watches/listens to any BBC programming at anytime
(live or on catch up)
f.Anyone who does not have a Sky TV subscription

14. The BBC is primarily funded by the licence fee which costs users
£149.50 per year.
Q. Who has to pay the licence fee?
a. Everyone in UK.
b. Anyone who has a television set or radio
c. Anyone who watches ‘live’ TV as it is broadcast or TV that
was recorded ‘live’, or uses BBC iPlayer for ‘catch-up’
d. Anyone who watches any television programme or film on a TV,
online or DVD/Blu-Ray.
e. Anyone that watches/listens to any BBC programming at
anytime (live or on catch up)
f. Anyone who does not have a Sky TV subscription

15. Who needs a TV Licence?
1. David has a TV set but only uses it as a monitor for his
games console
2. Doris watches BBC TV series The Office on Netflix
3. Donald watches Top Gear on Dave
4. Doreen watches The Simpsons on Sky satellite
television
5. Danielle watches Dr Who on iPlayer catch up.
6. Daisy watches a DVD box set of Sherlock on her TV
7. Danika watches TV at his uni’ halls of residence, but
his parents have a TV licence at home.
8. Darcy has no TV but watches Channel 4 live via
website
9. Drew listens to BBC radio on TV
10.Drake reads the news on the BBC website
No
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
Yes
No
No

16. Activity: Answer the questions in your booklet while
watching this video.

17. The Licence Fee in Numbers: Questions
When was the first radio licence issued?
How much can you be fined for TV Licence Evasion?
What percentage of UK households have a TV set or watch live TV
on another device?
How much money did the TV Licence raise (in 2014)?
£3.7bn
How much was lost due to licence evasion?
£196mn
What three groups of people are exempt from paying the full
amount?
How is the licence fee spent?
•£2.2bn (66%) on TV
•£650mn (19%) on Radio
•£175mn (5%) online
•£357 (10% on ‘other costs’) – What do you think these are?
1922
£1000
96%
£3.7bn
£196mn
1.The Blind (50%)
2.Students (-£37)
3.Over 75s (Free!)

20. The Licence Fee forms 75% of the BBC budget
(£3,722million in 2014).
Where do you think the rest of its money comes from?
Selling programmes/formats/services.
What do you think are the corporation’s big brands?
Dr Who, Sherlock, BBC Earth (Natural History)…

21. How much do you think the following shows are worth to the BBC?
*2014 figures, prior to Jeremy Clarkson and co leaving the programme

22. How much do you think the following shows are worth to the BBC?
£500 Million
over 10 years.
Sold to 50+
countries

23. Watch the video and answer the accompanying questions:
A Brief History of Public Service Broadcasting (Youtube Video)
3 Minute Media Theory Part 1 Reith’s Vision
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Vl31L81ADA
1.When was it first established?
2.What was the name of the organization that started it?
3.How was it funded?
4.Who had to pay?
5.Who was Lord John Reith?
6.What 2 key cultural changes predated the development of PSB?
7.How did Reith plan to bridge the gap between the ruling and
working classes?
8.What was universal suffrage?
9.How did this influence Reith’s plans for broadcasting?
10.What 3 words summaries Reiths objectibes of PSB?

25. Watch the video and answer the accompanying questions:
A Brief History of Public Service Broadcasting (Youtube Video)
3 Minute Media Theory Part 1 Reith’s Vision
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Vl31L81ADA
1.When was it first established?
2.What was the name of the organization that started it?
3.How was it funded?
4.Who had to pay?
5.Who was Lord John Reith?
6.What 2 key cultural changes predated the development of PSB?
7.How did Reith plan to bridge the gap between the ruling and
working classes?
8.What was universal suffrage?
9.How did this influence Reith’s plans for broadcasting?
10.What 3 words summaries Reiths objectibes of PSB?

26. The BBC is a Public Service
Broadcaster
But what does this mean?
‘Broadcasting that serves the public’ – but how?
Activity:
Read the selection of slips you have been given.
Select and separate the ones that you believe are
aims and/or objectives of public service
broadcasting

27. Activity – PSB Objectives (Slips)
PSB Objectives Not PSB Objectives

28. Public Service Broadcasting
• To “Inform, educate and entertain” Reithian values
names after John Reith.
• ITV, C4 and C5 also have PSB Commitments. No other
UK channels do.
• Most countries around the world have their own PSBs
(e.g. PBS in USA – home of Sesame Street!)
• The BBC’s PSB duties are set out in the Royal
Charter

29. The Royal Charter
The constitutional basis for the BBC. It sets out the
public purposes of the BBC, guarantees its
independence, and outlines the duties of the BBC
Trust and the Executive Board.
It states that the BBC exists to serve the public
interest and that it shall be “independent in all
matters concerning the content of its output, the
times and manner in which this is supplied, and
in the management of its affairs”.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/aboutthebbc/insidethebbc/whoweare/mission_and_values/charter.html

30. 5 Public Purposes
1. To provide impartial news and information to help people understand and
engage with the world around them
– The BBC will provide accurate and impartial news, current affairs and factual programming of the
highest editorial standards so that all audiences can engage fully with issues across the UK and
the world.
2. To support learning for people of all ages
– Educational content will help support learning for children and teenagers across the UK, whilst
audiences will be encouraged to explore inspiring and challenging new subjects and activities
through a range of partnerships.
3. To show the most creative, highest quality and distinctive output and services
– Innovative content covering many different genres will be provided across a range of services
and platforms, setting the standard both in the UK and globally.
4. To reflect, represent and serve the diverse communities of all of the United
Kingdom’s nations and regions and, in doing so, support the creative
economy across the United Kingdom
– The lives of the people in the United Kingdom today will be accurately and authentically portrayed
in the BBC’s output and services to raise awareness of different cultures, contribute to social
cohesion and invest in the development of each nation’s creative economy.
5. To reflect the United Kingdom, its culture and values to the world
– High quality, accurate, impartial news coverage will be delivered to international audiences,
aiding understanding of the UK as a whole.

31. BBC and The Licence Fee - Debate
As well as a lot of support, the BBC has many critics.
What criticisms can you think of the BBC and the licence fee?
- It is ‘archaic’ – outdated in today’s society where people consume media in
different ways to 1927.
For instance, people who only watch non-iPlayer, streamed, subscription TV
- It gives the BBC a monopoly – an unfair advantage over its commercial
media rivals.
It means the BBC is not truly independent, but reliant upon the government’s
support, calling it politically biassed and ‘state propaganda’
- It is unfair as people are forced to pay for TV they don’t watch.

32. Activity: Watch this clip (5 mins) and make notes on the
arguments made in support of and against the licence fee
and suggested possible alternative.

34. Extension: Petitions for and against
What do you think?
https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/end-
the-bbc-licence-fee
https://campaign.goingtowork.org.uk/petitions/l
ove-it-or-lose-it-save-the-bbc
Read through the arguments on your handout. Which would you sign? Why?
In groups of 4, debate the issue and take a vote to decide your group’s overall
decision. 1 vote per group.

35. Two-thirds of viewers opposed to the licence fee
changed their minds after just nine days without
BBC services (Radio Times, 25 August 2015)
Seventy families across the country agreed to have their access to the
BBC’s television, radio and online services suspended, as part of a
“deprivation study” designed to test the reactions of those who said they
would prefer not to pay the licence fee.
…48 had initially said that they would prefer either to pay no licence fee
and have no BBC access, or pay a reduced licence fee. After nine days
without any access to the corporation, however, 33 of the 48 families, or
69 per cent, declared that they were now happy to pay…Many of those
who took part in the trial said that they became frustrated by having to
watch adverts on commercial TV channels…A perceived lack of quality
from the BBC’s rivals was also a common complaint…
http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2015-08-25/two-thirds-of-viewers-opposed-to-the-
licence-fee-changed-their-minds-after-just-nine-days-without-bbc-services