Davie ends BBC’S ‘lurch to youth’ in attempt to win back over-55s

But director-general says squeeze on corporation’s budget will mean fewer dramas and more repeats

THE BBC’S “lurch to youth” is at an end, its director-general has said, as the corporation attempts to win back disaffected older viewers.

In recent years, the broadcaster has made determined attempts to woo the 16 to 34 age demographic while the over-55s have been tempted by Netflix and other streaming services.

The corporation also alienated many previously loyal viewers by scrapping free licences for the over-75s.

Tim Davie said the core channels of BBC One and BBC Two should concentrate on programmes that can appeal to viewers of all generations.

He pointed to Peaky Blinders and This Is Going To Hurt, which have proved popular with younger viewers. Masterchef is also a hit with under-35s, along with The Apprentice and bigbudget natural history series such as The Green Planet.

Recent dramas The Tourist, The Responder and The Split also scored high on iplayer with 16 to 34-year-olds.

“I don’t believe in a big lurch to youth in the BBC,” Mr Davie said. “We need to be healthily paranoid about making sure we give value to people aged 16 to 34, and 16-and-under for children’s provision, but I don’t think it means you have to skew everything young in any shape or form.

“Good quality news, outstanding natural history and dramas are often liked by [young viewers]. Peaky Blinders had a very wide audience.”

Mr Davie pointed out that the average age of BBC One and BBC Two viewers is over 60. He said younger viewers should have a dedicated service in the form of BBC Three. Critics have questioned why the corporation brought BBC Three back to linear television at a time of belt-tightening elsewhere, but Mr Davie said that the cost was “relatively small”.

The “lurch to youth” was instigated by Mr Davie’s predecessor, Lord Hall of Birkenhead, as the BBC’S proportion of younger viewers went into decline.

Two years ago, he said priority should be given to the “lives and passions” of viewers in their late teens and early 20s, with a reduced spend on programmes aimed at older viewers.

Casualties of the policy included Eggheads, the popular teatime quiz show, which was put out to pasture and later found a new home at Channel 5.

However, an Ofcom report at the end of 2020 found that satisfaction levels with the BBC were waning among older, middle-class viewers. During the pandemic, many over-55s – dubbed “silver streamers” – took out a streaming service subscription for the first time.

Mr Davie was speaking at a conference organised by the Voice of the Listener and Viewer, where he also signalled that the BBC’S drama budget is to be cut and repeats will become more commonplace.

The squeeze is in response to the Government’s recent decision to freeze the licence fee for the next two years.

“We make 31 dramas a year. We’ll probably have to make less,” Mr Davie said. “What I’m not willing to do is compromise on quality. You may end up with services like BBC Four, which are great but primarily archive services.

“Are they repeats? Yes. Are they of value? Yes. We’ll still have thousands of hours of origination, but I would rather do less and protect quality.”

Mr Davie also made reference to the allegations about Tim Westwood, the former Radio 1 DJ who has been accused of sexual misconduct against several women. The allegations were made in a BBC Three documentary, and Mr Davie said he found them “shocking”, “powerful” and “appalling”. He said there was no evidence the BBC had received any complaints about Mr Westwood during his time at Radio 1 but urged anyone with information to come forward.

Mr Westwood denies the allegations.