RTS DIGITAL CONVENTION 2020
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Tim Davie insists that the BBC must serve all licence-fee payers, regardless of who they are and where they live RTS
o say that Tim Davie has hit the ground running is an understatement. In his first week as the BBC’s 17th Director-General he delivered a remarkably candid speech setting out clearly his values and agenda. A fortnight later, he was the first speaker at the RTS’s Digital Convention 2020, when he was interviewed by the Society’s CEO, Theresa Wise. Looking much younger than his 53 years, a consequence of his new buzz-cut hairstyle, the noticeably plain-speaking Davie cut a refreshing figure. He covered a wide range of topics, such as diversity, impartiality, competing with the tech giants, increasing revenue from the BBC’s commercial activities, BBC pay and the corporation’s important role as a global ambassador for Britain. He also argued that the BBC’s policy on abolishing free licences for those over-75s who do not receive pension credit was correct. Throughout, he stressed that the BBC needed to be valued by all licence-fee payers, regardless of where they lived in the UK or their social class. “We’ve got to deliver for every household. Us offering value is not just a line,” he insisted, mindful, perhaps, of his own background in south London, where he was the first member of his family to attend university. “It has surprised me that this has become part of me – focusing on making sure that every member of the public really gets value from us. That’s what I’m about.” What does a modern public service broadcaster look like – and how does this differ from what the BBC has been doing to date, asked Wise. “What I’m about is evolution, not trying everything out. One of my messages is that you have to evolve things to protect them.” He added: “I want people to think deeply about what’s important in this market, what’s important for us in the UK? What do people genuinely care about in the BBC? “There is good news for the BBC. In this world, I don’t think there’s been a better time for proper impartial news or proper local, regional storytelling. “With such incredible competition, you can’t take an audience for granted any more. The BBC has to be truly different and differentiated.
A BBC for everyone “We’re not trying to beat Netflix.… It’s about whether we are truly valued and essential, and whether the BBC feels indispensable – not for every hour of your media consumption but for part of it.” Were some audiences underserved by the BBC? “Absolutely. The BBC doesn’t deliver equally to everyone. You’re never going to quite get that right. There are some people who are getting extraordinary value from the BBC. “The overall numbers are pretty good: 91% of the population come to
the BBC for an average of 18 hours a week. But there are certain bits of the country – and it’s not as simple as age – that don’t necessarily feel the BBC is for them. It’s not as straightforward as saying, ‘It’s the under-35s’. It’s often about your life circumstances, where you are, where you live.... “The BBC is extraordinary in how it’s connected with an enormous number of people across the UK. We’ve still got a real bedrock of support to justify a universal fee, but I did say [recently that] we don’t have an inalienable right
