BBC Trust

The BBC Trust has today extended its consultation on the future of the BBC following publication of new proposals.

On Monday, the BBC presented a series of proposals and initiatives which it believes will make the Corporation more open and distinctive.

The proposals are part of Charter Review, under which the BBC Trust and the Government are currently consulting on the scale and remit of the BBC, together with funding options for the future.

The Trust is seeking views from the public and industry on management’s proposals which include:

• An "Ideas Service" - an online shareable resource for science and culture, provided by the BBC and partners such as universities, museums and arts organisations.
• A new children’s service – iPlay – which would include a wide range of different types of content, ranging from full-length television programmes to more interactive formats made especially for children and young people.
• Significant investment in the World Service to parts of the world where there is a democratic deficit in impartial news.*
• A new partnership with local newspapers on local reporting, whereby content would be shared, jointly created, and backed by licence fee funding.
• A transition from rolling news to streaming news for mobile devices.
• Opening up BBC iPlayer to showcase content from others.
• Plans to enable listeners to create their own individual radio channels from across the BBC’s networks.
• A new music discovery service, building on BBC Music’s Playlister, which would make the 50,000 tracks the BBC broadcasts every month available to listen to online, for a limited period.

As part of its most comprehensive programme of public consultation yet, since July the Trust has been asking audiences for their views on the BBC, such as its range of services and the quality of what it provides.  That strand of consultation will continue until Friday 18 September and will feed into the Trust’s response to a Government Green Paper setting out for consultation future options for the BBC.

The Trust is also carrying out extensive audience research, online engagement and events in partnership with external organisations, including a series of seminars in locations throughout the UK.  

BBC Trust Chairman Rona Fairhead said:

"The public pays for the BBC so they should have the biggest say in its future. We want to hear from them, along with other interested parties, on BBC management’s plans for how the Corporation can best serve audiences in the future and become a better partner for other organisations to strengthen the UK."

* Funding for the World Service will be discussed with the Government, but the rest of the proposals would be funded within the confines of the budget agreement with the Government, and will not require any additional licence fee funding. In order to pay for them, the BBC says it will deliver further efficiencies and scale back its operations elsewhere.

Notes to Editors

1. Further information on the Charter Review process and the BBC’s Charter and Agreement
2. The Government’s consultation and Green Paper can be found here 
3. Information, including how to register for the Trust’s seminar series is available with booking now open for the first event 'Tomorrow’s BBC: Who Governs?' Please note tickets are allocated on a first come first served basis.