BBC to explore third-party deals as it looks to reboot under plan for future

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The BBC must “radically transform and renew” by rebuilding online services, investing in programmes and boosting commercial income with possible third-party deals, according to plans to be set out by its director-general Tim Davie this week.

The BBC strategy document, to be published on Tuesday alongside a wide-ranging speech by Davie, will outline a series of new initiatives to address “the future direction of the BBC and its role for the UK”.

In his speech, Davie will also warn that “British storytelling is at growing risk of being squeezed out in an extraordinarily competitive global media landscape”, with a “danger of allowing the UK’s world-class creative industries to be undermined”.

US and Chinese algorithms, he will say, are “the potential tastemakers of the future”.

The BBC is under pressure to show it provides value for money ahead of a government review of its licence fee model, which could fundamentally change how the broadcaster is funded. Its income has already been hit by a freeze on the licence fee for two years after 2022, leading to cuts in production and staff.

As part of the new plans, the BBC will focus on how to source new income from commercial activities, which could include partnerships with large international media groups and US broadcasters. These could be similar to the deal it has struck with Disney over the production and distribution of Doctor Who around the world, one person familiar with the plans said.

These deals could also mean that the BBC can work with these groups to invest in shows, or use the relationships to raise third-party capital, according to a person familiar with the plans, to further the production of high-quality TV shows and develop global franchises.

Davie will say in the speech that the BBC will strike “major new partnerships that can allow us to discover new talent, access capital and secure scale”.

“These steps will help secure the future of the BBC, but more importantly, the vital role that a BBC can play for the UK at home and abroad in the years ahead,” he will say.

The BBC will also pledge to overhaul its digital services to better reach a new audience that is increasingly reliant on smartphones and computers to access news and TV content, rather than through traditional linear channels. 

This overhaul will look at existing services, such as BBC iPlayer and BBC Sounds, alongside all other online platforms to offer “a fully integrated and more personalised, more accessible service”.

Davie will also emphasise the role the BBC can play to help ensure the UK will continue to have a healthy democracy and a strong creative economy, which he will say are under pressure.