BBC shifts its focus away from the capital
PLANS FOR DRAMA, NEWS AND RADIO TO INVOLVE THE NORTH
THE BBC is to create a new soap operastyle drama set in the North of England as part of a major restructuring of the entire organisation, designed to ensure it serves every part of the country.
A “long-running drama series” set in the North is just one of the plans announced by the BBC to make it less focused on London.
Viewers in Yorkshire, the North East and North West will have their own continuity announcers and marketing campaigns. This is designed to help them find relevant programming and services, the BBC says.
And in a move that will provide a boost to creative industries, the BBC will spend at least 60% of its network TV budget for commissioning programmes outside London, up from around 50% now.
Over the next three years more than 100 drama or comedy shows will be set outside London, including in Gateshead, Newcastle and Middlesbrough. This includes new series of established programmes, and brand new shows.
The BBC will ensure more decisions about commissioning shows are made by staff outside of London.
Plans also include ensuring at least half of network radio and music spend will be outside London by 2027/28, compared to less than 40% today.
There will be a new “peak-time” local radio services in Sunderland. The BBC says this is designed to serve “communities facing some of the greatest social and economic challenges.”
Flagship news programmes will be presented from across the UK, and many of the teams of journalists who work on them will be moved outside London.
The BBC says it will improve the quality of its local and regional online news. And it will recruit more than 100 new “digital community reporters” across the UK, based in towns and areas that are currently ignored.
The broadcaster says 400 roles currently in London will be moved to other parts of the country, including 200 news roles, and a further 600 jobs will be created outside London in the future.
By 2027/28 the BBC will be spending at least an extra £700m cumulatively across the UK.
Director-General Tim Davie said: “These plans will get us closer to audiences, create jobs and investment, and develop and nurture new talent.”
Leader of Newcastle City Council, Coun Nick Forbes, said: “Connecting more closely with the regions will encourage greater diversity in the media and make the BBC more relevant to people’s everyday lives and experiences.”