NEWS published on 21 Jul 2015

EBU backs BBC contribution to UK society at parliamentary enquiry

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) has given evidence to the British House of Lords Communications Committee examining the future of the BBC.

Speaking at the 'BBC Charter Renewal: public purposes and licence fee' session, Dr Roberto Suárez Candel, who heads the EBU Media Intelligence Service (MIS), was asked his views on a number of topics including the BBC’s standing overseas, comparisons with other public service broadcasting organisations in Europe and about the main challenges for the BBC in the future.

“Outside the UK we are surprised by the criticism of the BBC – it sets the standard,” said Dr Suárez. "Everybody wants to learn from the BBC. It is regarded by other Members as an advocate of best practices and as a trend setter."

"The BBC faces the challenge of continuing to maintain its value to citizens despite competition, and knowing it has to do more activities on more platforms for different groups with the same resources," he said. "If the quality of output is reduced because resources are cut, this has the potential to create a negative spiral which could lead to audiences to question the value of the corporation."

When asked about the value of PSM on the whole, Dr Suarez told the committee that funding PSM should not be seen as a cost, but rather an investment. "PSM is well known for taking risks and has a positive impact on citizens and the arts," he said.

The House of Lords Committee is tasked with investigating the role the BBC plays in the arts and culture of the UK; the role the BBC should play in education and training; the effectiveness of the BBC’s public purposes in delivering public benefit for culture; and the effect any financial cuts would have, both on the BBC and on the cultural life of the UK.

Its findings are expected to be delivered to parliament by March 2016.

Measuring PSM’s contribution to Society

With support from the EBU Members Advisory Panel (VRT, NPO, BBC, RTE, SR, YLE, RAI, ORF, CT, ARD, SRG SSR), MIS is currently conducting research to create a modern-day framework to measure how PSM contribute to society that includes:

  • a map of defined areas of activity and a catalogue of indicators to assess and report on PSM contribution to society
  • best practices implemented by EBU Members
  • guidelines about how to identify PSM values and benefits, and how to effectively communicate them

 

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