What does the BBC do for you?
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Why did the BBC run a high-profile World Cup ad asking 'What has the BBC ever done for you?'?
Today, why can't the BBC catch a break?
There were two big clashes on Sunday night. One was Argentina versus Spain in the World Cup final. The other one, and I think will end almost as bloodily actually, is between BBC management and the people who refused to pay the licence fee.
It says here that the money we pay for the BBC creates over £6.5 billion for the economy, which actually sounds pretty good.
It may sound dramatic, but the number of people paying the BBC's licence fee fell much faster than expected in the last year. Half a million more households have opted out of the payment. It's one of the biggest declines in its history.
I mean, the BBC is in a real fight.
And in response, the BBC has produced an advert for itself, fronted by Romesh Ranganathan, to answer the question... What has the BBC ever done for me? It's a lavish four-minute ride through the Biebs' biggest hits.
Who cares about Mary Berry? Blast them, Barry!
Doctor Who, Traitors, Strictly, with dozens of household names from Graham Norton to Greg James, Claudia Winkleman to Cate Blanchett, all making a nostalgic case for why the BBC matters.
They introduced the nation to someone called... The BBC is a unique proposition.
A public service broadcaster that receives almost £4 billion a year in public funding and employs around 21,000 people. On and offline, it's the most widely used source of news in the UK and has created some of the nation's most popular entertainment. But it's in real trouble.
I think we're in a moment of real jeopardy, not just for the BBC, but for Britain and for public service broadcasting.
From The Guardian, I'm Noshi Nikval. Today in Focus, the BBC fights back.
Mark Lawson, welcome back to Today in Focus. Now, you're a Guardian journalist and a broadcaster. You commentate frequently on the BBC, which is why we're here today. Let's start with this ad which debuted on Sunday night during the World Cup. What has the BBC ever done for you? Who is it for?
So the advert is very specifically aimed, I think, at one group of people. And that's why it went out during the World Cup final. There are various people who don't pay the license fee for various reasons. But there's a particular large block of people who say, I love football. I only watch football. I spend £1,500 a year to watch TV on all the other channels. You don't have very much football at all. And so I'm not paying it. The problem with it is, is that the ad was arguing for the uniqueness of the BBC and the very same program was on ITV at exactly the same time. And if you were a serious licensee or a fuse maker, you would just be watching on ITV.
Mark, you say that, but I think the BBC could fairly argue that while ITV was also showing the World Cup final, four times as many viewers did choose to watch it on the BBC. And that says something. And you say the advert was just for Refuse Knicks and you're speaking in broad terms. However, you know, it's possible that it's also a real reminder for everyone else about why they value it, what they use, why the BBC has become an integral part of people's lives at every stage. Understanding that, what are its most prized assets? What do people enjoy about the BBC?
Well, it would be clearly the traitors, clearly, strictly come dancing. Slightly surprisingly for many people, The Apprentice still performs spectacularly well.
I'm surprised by that.
It does, though. It's one of the major brands. Someone would always have at least one thing that they said, well, I watched the BBC for that. You know, I meet a lot of people who would once have paid the license fee because of the arts. Yeah, the proms, certainly. I have late relatives who paid the license fee respectively for the archers and for songs of praise. And that was a real thing. You have these very few events, essentially the final of the traitors, the final traitors. of Strictly Come Dancing, where you have to watch on the night because otherwise you'll find out who's won. So you have to, but those can still get very big audiences.
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