The purpose of the BBC
The BBC is a unique institution, owned by the British people and independent of political and commercial interests.

The BBC’s purpose – largely unchanged in 80 years – is to enrich the life of every person in the UK regardless of age, income, sex, race or religion with programmes that inform, educate and entertain.

The BBC is a major force in UK society, contributing through its programmes and services to the quality of life in our society as a whole. But in order to do this successfully, it must also constantly and consistently offer value for people as individuals. It should touch people’s lives in ways that contribute fundamentally to their individual enjoyment, self-fulfilment and ability to participate in our society.

The BBC creates public value in six main ways:

• Sustaining citizenship and civil society: the BBC supports civic life and national debate by providing trusted and impartial news and information that helps citizens make sense of the world and encourages them to engage with it.
• Stimulating creativity and cultural excellence: the BBC enriches the UK’s cultural life by bringing talent and audiences together to break new ground, to celebrate our cultural heritage, and to broaden the national conversation.
• Promoting education and learning: by offering audiences of every age a world of formal and informal educational opportunity in every medium, the BBC helps build a society strong in knowledge and skills.
• Reflecting the UK’s nations, regions and communities: by enabling the UK’s many communities to see what they hold in common and how they differ, the BBC seeks to build social cohesion and tolerance through greater understanding.
• Bringing the world to the UK and the UK to the world : the BBC supports the UK’s global role by being the world’s most trusted provider of international news and information, and by showcasing the best of British culture to a global audience.

And – for the first time this year:

• Building digital Britain: the BBC is a trusted guide to the new digital world for the inexperienced or unsure, a safe place to be for the young, a reliable and accurate on-air and online source for the information-seeker, and a challenging and involving partner for the more advanced user.

As the broadcast environment evolves – across television, radio and other new and emerging media platforms – and as society changes, the BBC will continue to support how we work and how we play, delivering public value across the range of its content and services.