United Kingdom

[GB] BBC Strategy Review

IRIS 1995-4:1/16

Tony Prosser

University of Bristol Law School

After 18 months of internal discussion and its largest ever exercise in public consultation, the BBC has produced its strategy review. The review notes the changing nature of the Corporation's audience and the necessity of reflecting more fully the needs of Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the English Regions as well as different age groups and religious and ethnic minorities. The consultation suggested that most of the audience was broadly satisfied but that some groups, especially the young, the less well-off and those furthest from London found the BBC out of touch with ordinary people and 'too serious'. Much output was seen as middle-aged in tone and subject matter.

The review responds to seven challenges: relevance, accessibility, originality and risk-taking, creative partnership with talent, quality, range and mix in programming. More specifically, it proposes to offer more live and specially recorded music, increased quality in popular drama, better and more accessible entertainment and arts programmes, more accessible news presented in a way which is more welcoming to audiences and fuller regional coverage.