BBC Told to Stop Outbidding Rivals for Shows Like Scooby-Doo and Suits
The BBC should stop paying over the odds to beat commercial rivals to foreign shows like Scooby-Doo, Suits and Schitt's Creek.
That is the conclusion of the cross-party Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee in its BBC Royal Charter Review report, published on 1 October UK Parliament. The report is listed as the committee's 4th Report and is chaired by Caroline Dinenage.
The committee said the BBC should not use licence fee cash, the annual household payment that funds the BBC, to outbid other UK broadcasters for overseas programmes. Paying over the odds in those contests does not provide value for money for the licence fee payer, it said Deadline. The report framed that warning as applying at a time of constrained resources.
The flashpoint is acquisitions, the trade term for buying in ready-made shows from abroad. BBC director general Matt Brittin appeared before the committee in July to answer questions on the issue. Labour MP Natasha Irons asked him what the public service value was in outbidding commercial broadcasters for shows like Scooby-Doo.
Brittin said less than 5% of the BBC's content budget goes on foreign acquisitions. He said those pick-ups can drive viewing towards public service content. He added the BBC would review acquisitions as part of a plan to save £500M ($670M) over the next three years.
ITV, Sky and Channel 4 have criticised the BBC for using public money to outspend rivals for titles including Schitt's Creek BBC News. ITV told the committee it saw no reason for the BBC to use public funds to compete for content that would otherwise find a home on free-to-access commercial services. It urged the government to add a charter rule, the multi-year agreement that sets what the BBC must do and how it is funded, to bar the BBC from spending public service broadcasting money on non-UK acquired content except where the BBC is the purchaser of last resort, meaning no one else will buy and show it. ITV also urged the BBC to be more transparent about the titles it acquires.
The committee also looked beyond acquisitions to how the BBC is paid for. It called on the government to broaden the scope of the licence fee during charter renewal negotiations so it is no longer linked to a particular device or activity. It also said ministers should keep an open mind about a household levy, which could add a BBC charge to a utility or broadband bill.
For viewers, this means the fight is now about slots and spending. The shows stay on screen for now. The question is who gets to buy the next ones.
