BBC Trust

Under the terms of the BBC Agreement, the Trust is required to conduct reviews of BBC services once every five years and whenever the Trust considers that the public interest demands it.

The BBC has a duty to provide all audiences with high quality and distinctive programming and content that promote the public purposes. The Trust's decision to review provision for this broad age group was informed by its understanding that the BBC often finds it difficult to serve the different audiences within the 13-34 age range when compared to older audiences. The rapid changes currently underway in media technologies and markets are of particular relevance to younger audiences and present both challenges and opportunities for the BBC. The Trust therefore wishes to take a considered view of how well the BBC is meeting the needs of younger audiences across the different distribution platforms and how and in what ways the BBC's provision may need to change in future.

In conducting this review of provision for the audiences within this broad age group, the Trust will subject those services that are specifically targeted on younger audiences to the full service review that is required by the BBC's Agreement. The services that will be subject to full review against the terms of their Service Licences are: Radio 1, 1Xtra and BBC Three . The Trust will also review output aimed at audiences within this age group that is carried on other services. This output includes BBC Switch, the teen-focused proposition that is carried on a number of services and formal learning provision, most of which is carried on bbc.co.uk.

The review will comprise two distinct workstreams. Firstly, and at a high level, the review will consider how young people consume BBC content in general and the value they derive from it. This piece of work will provide necessary context for the second workstream that will consider how well the young audience-focused services perform against their Service Licences and what contribution they make to the BBC's overall task of reaching younger audiences.

The review will therefore address the following, key questions:

Workstream 1: Younger Audiences' Consumption of BBC content

• How well is the BBC serving younger audiences within the 13-34 age range?
• How effectively is the BBC delivering the six public purposes to them?
• Is the BBC reaching young people on platforms, at times and in places that are right for them?
• Do younger audiences value what the BBC offers them as distinct from what is available from other providers?
• Are there particular groups within the identified age range that the BBC needs to work harder at serving (as defined, for instance, by age, gender, social grade, ethnicity)?

Workstream 2: Services targeted at younger audiences

• How well are these services performing against the terms and conditions of their Service Licences?
• What contribution do they make to the BBC's overall task of reaching younger audiences?
• Do they need to change in any way to:
• Deliver their current remits more effectively?
• Take account of developments in markets and technologies?
• Address any weaknesses identified in the review in the BBC's overall provision for younger audiences?

The Service Licences Operating Framework sets out broad guidelines for the service review process. Accordingly, as part of the review, the Trust will engage with relevant groups of licence fee payers and industry stakeholders on the key questions raised by the review through public consultation and audience research, including input from the Audience Councils. This engagement with licence fee payers will be carried out in ways that are appropriate for the subject matter and target audience and the Trust will actively seek the views of younger audiences themselves. In doing so the Trust will pay particular attention to the wide age-range to be covered in this review and the very different life-stages within it.

The Trust will also consult with the BBC Executive, examining recent performance and their fulfillment of existing Service Licence commitments. It will also consult the BBC Executive on its plans for provision for younger audiences and consider the appropriate approvals processes for these plans. As part of the process the Executive will be required to make a submission to the review. Concurrently, the Trust will carry out its public consultation and research to understand the BBC's performance and market developments. It will also gather evidence from other bodies and organisations that carry out research on issues and themes of relevance to this review.

The Executive's submission, together with the results of the public consultation, audience research and other sources of evidence will be analysed and considered by the Trust before it produces its final report. Having considered this report the Trust may decide to amend the relevant Service Licences. When publishing its final report the Trust will also publish the evidence gathered as part of the review, including the Executive's submission.

September 2008 Review begins; public consultation launched

Autumn/Winter 2008 Trust gathers evidence from BBC Executive, public consultation, audience research and other sources

Winter 2008/9 Trust Unit analyses data and prepares report

Spring 2009 Report finalised and published by the Trust