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BBC announces Attenborough lecture as part of wider programme of debate around Ofcom's PSB review
10 April 2008
The BBC will launch a wide-ranging debate with the public and the creative communities to garner views on public service broadcasting, ahead of its own submission to Ofcom's Public Service Broadcasting (PSB) review. Ofcom is looking at how well PSB is being delivered in the UK, funding models and how PSB will be consumed in the future.
The BBC's programme of debate will include:
- The Creative Industry Lecture Series – a series of lectures given by Sir David Attenborough, Stephen Fry and Will Hutton in their personal capacity that address various aspects of what public service broadcasting delivers to Britain
- In-depth research with the UK's creative community and the wider audience on their attitudes to public service broadcasting
- Sir Michael Lyons, Chairman of the BBC and other Trustees, holding a series of direct conversations with the public across the country via radio phone-ins and public meetings to hear directly their views on the BBC, in addition to the Trust's annual survey of public opinion about the BBC and its delivery of the public purposes
- Research from the BBC Trust that considers the impact of societal change in the UK on public service broadcasting
These activities will inform the BBC's public submission to Ofcom, which will be delivered in June. The BBC is committed to listening to all constituencies ahead of finalising its response to Ofcom.
Sir Michael Lyons, Chairman of the BBC Trust, said:
"Ofcom's first-stage report raises some important issues which require serious consideration and open debate. The Trust will listen to a wide range of opinion as we consider our response, and we will place special emphasis on the views of the wider public. Their interests must be at the heart of all debates and the conclusions finally reached."
Mark Thompson, Director-General of the BBC, said:
"I am pleased that the Ofcom report reaffirms the audiences’ view that the BBC is the cornerstone of public service broadcasting in Britain. As part of our engagement with the review, I want to focus on what our audiences want from us in the future. The BBC has always innovated, but I am really struck by the early successes of iPlayer. How audiences will want to receive programmes like Doctor Who, Gavin and Stacey or News 24 in the future is something that we've done a lot of thinking about. I’m looking forward to hearing from the public and the creative industries what they want from the BBC as we move to a digital society."
Notes to editors
The BBC will be launching a website today (bbc.co.uk/thefuture) to support Ofcom's PSB Review and encourage debate, as well as capture lectures, ongoing research, and speeches.
The creative industry lecture series will begin with Sir David Attenborough on 30 April. Stephen Fry will follow on 7 May, and Will Hutton on 15 May.
The lectures will be published in a book, which will be available online and broadcast on BBC Parliament, as well as being available to stream or download on BBC iPlayer.
As a contribution to the wider PSB debate and to inform the BBC's consideration of the issues raised by the Ofcom review, the BBC and the BBC Trust have commissioned a substantial programme of research. It will include:
- Research on modern Britain, asking "In what important ways is the United Kingdom changing, and what are the implications for PSB?"
- In-depth qualitative work, understanding and debating audience attitudes to PSB in general and its future delivery
- Large-scale quantitative surveys of audience value and their views about the future of PSB
- As part of the creative lectures, we will publish the results of a wider in-depth survey the BBC has conducted with the UK's leading independent companies and with its own programme makers, about their views on the future of public service content
The Trust's annual programme of engagement with audiences about BBC performance and its public purposes started on Monday 7 April with an event with members of the public in Birmingham, and radio phone-ins by the Chairman on BBC Coventry & Warwickshire, BBC Essex and BBC Radio Sheffield. Further activity is planned during April and May.
The Trust's first annual survey of public opinion was published in July 2007 and highlighted the areas of greatest importance to the public and those where they sought an increase in performance. Further research by the Trust about public expectations around ‘distinctiveness’ in television was published in December 2007.
After today's Ofcom report is launched, the consultation process begins. Ofcom's second report, also followed by a consultation, will be published in the autumn.
