Auntie oversteps commercial mark

BBC%2C%20pudsey%20bearThe BBC is part of the fabric of our daily lives. Auntie is a uniquely British institution of which we are all proud as citizens (aka licence fee payers), viewers and listeners. The BBC also plays a unique role on the international stage, bringing (in the words of the Public Purposes from the BBC Charter) “the UK to the world and the world to the UK”.

That’s why our trust in its editorial and commercial integrity is so important.

Last summer was a difficult few months on the editorial front, with the scandal about the trailer for a documentary about the Queen and the phone-in deceptions involving iconic programmes like Blue Peter and Children In Need, each contributing to a sense that somehow the BBC was not demonstrating the high editorial standards expected of our world-leading public service broadcaster. And the BBC has responded as we would hope: a thorough review of editorial guidelines, a new training regime and a series of industry initiatives alongside the commercial TV companies. So far, so good.

But just as the editorial smoke clears, the commercial fire has been lit. A flurry of damaging stories in the past few weeks have highlighted fresh concerns over creeping commercialisation at the Beeb.

Three areas stand out. First, the BBC is under attack for attracting commercial sponsors to mainstream programmes like Sports Personality of the Year (supported by Robinsons) or Proms in the Park (supported by National Savings). The Beeb argues that these are “events”, for which they are entitled to attract sponsors, not “programmes”, which cannot be sponsored. This curious distinction – given both “events” are self-evidently broadcast as programmes on TV and radio – seems even more disingenuous when advertisers are offered a package of benefits including “visual credits” and “contractual on-air mentions” within the programme (to an audience of millions), rather than at the event only (to an audience of hundreds). This is what the advertiser-funded sector of British media worries about with creeping commercialisation. When do Strictly Come Dancing or Question Time or Have I Got News For You stop being programmes shot in front of a studio audience and become “events” produced in front of a live audience, supported by sponsorship money that might otherwise belong with the commercial sector? When does DFS begin to weigh up programme credits for Dancing on Ice on ITV1 against Strictly Come Dancing on BBC1?

Next, the BBC has temporarily withdrawn its controversial website www.bbceventsponsorship.com. This site is a brand manager’s dream, showcasing a string of sponsorship opportunities for BBC properties from Planet Earth to Children In Need. As John Whittingdale, Chairman of the Commons Culture Select Committee said last week: “there need to be very clear rules at what point sponsorship is moving into mainstream broadcasting”.
Finally, the football pages reported that the BBC would bid “what it takes” to prise Champions League football rights away from the commercial sector, despite the fact there is already a vibrant and dynamic market within both free-to-air and subscription providers (with all of ITV, Sky, Five and Setanta on the pitch, so to speak) for football rights.

It’s hard to see how paying a premium for sports rights where there is already a vibrant commercial market is a good use of the licence fee. But it’s even less clear when UEFA hinted that the BBC would have had to bid way ahead of commercial broadcasters to replace the commercial value of sponsors rights which are otherwise embedded in the broadcast advertising and stadium signage packages. In the end the BBC did not enter the bidding, leaving ITV and Sky to share the spoils.

All these issues are editorial – about the content and programming of UK shows. But put alongside the looming commercial shadow of BBC Worldwide and this looks like an organisation intent on flexing its commercial muscle. Take publishing: a few months ago the BBC acquired Lonely Planet (wait for the travel guide ads on Radio 1); closer to home, Match Of The Day magazine launched a fortnight ago. Now the new BBC title and its well-established commercial rival The Match are locked in a 99p price war with lots of cover mount giveaways. And that’s before the BBC magazine is cross-promoted on the TV show. Great for readers – until the commercial model becomes unviable.

Let’s see whether the BBC Trust will act quickly to clamp down on this pursuit of commercial funding. If not, the BBC’s publicly funded mission to entertain, educate and inform will be “supported by your sponsor” just as much as the commercial sector is funded by its advertisers. In the long run, that’s not good for either wealth creation or media plurality.