The BBC should stop outbidding ITV and other free to air rivals for US boxsets according to a report by Parliament’s Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee which has been carrying out a wide-ranging inquiry into the BBC’s funding, operations and place in the market.
While the inquiry is separate to the government’s own review of the Charter under which the BBC operates, both sit against a backdrop of deep cuts to jobs and output as the BBC seeks to save £500m over the next tree years.
The cuts are being driven by a sustained drop in the number of households willing to pay the £180 annual Licence Fee.
Today’s report follows months of meetings in which MPs heard from senior BBC figures, executives from rival broadcasters, programme makers and broadcasting experts, and contains a number of recommendations to help put the BBC on a sustainable footing.
While many are calls for action from government ministers, they also contain a few where the BBC can act immediately, including dropping its “illogical” policy of spending almost £90m per year buying in boxsets and Hollywood movies to bolster the iPlayer.
Some of the shows the BBC has spent millions to screen over the past few years include AMC’s Mayfair Witches and Interview with the Vampire, the Disney+ series Love Victor plus Suits and Schitt’s Creek which have both already been available to UK audiences on multiple outlets.
Rivals, including ITV, have long accused the BBC of using the Licence Fee to push up prices by bidding against them for content.
In its written submission to the committee, ITV said it has been “very substantially outbid by the BBC” in some negotiations and pointed out that much of the content the BBC is buying has already been on other free services such as ITVX.
The BBC argues that it spends less than 5% of its content budget on bought-in shows which it describes as a “cost-effective way of delivering high-quality content to audiences who then go on to discover original, homegrown programming on BBC iPlayer.”
However today’s report says: “At a time of constrained resources, the BBC should not be paying over the odds for overseas content, particularly when it’s bidding against other commercial UK broadcasters to do so. We do not believe that this provides value for money for the licence fee payer.”
MPs have also called on the BBC to explore introducing “an international TV licence so that it can maximise the potential global audience and increase its revenue”.
During one hearing session, BBC Director General Matt Brittin told the committee that “complex rights issues around the content and its ownership” would make such a scheme impossible.
However the report highlights that Samir Shah, chair of the BBC board, said it might be possible to look again at rights so that “BBC output can be enhanced and people outside Britain can pay for it”.
A separate recommendation calls for the BBC and the independent production companies which make most of its content “to engage constructively in discussions on the ‘rebalancing’ of intellectual property rights” so that more of the shows funded by Licence Fee payers can be made available on iPlayer.
Recommendations for the government include resuming responsibility for funding the World Service and reforming the Licence Fee “so it is no longer linked to the consumption of live TV or to a particular device”.
MPs have also backed recent calls that TV makers be forced to include a button on remotes which takes viewers directly to content from the BBC and other public service broadcasters such as ITV, Channel 4 and 5.
Committee Chair Dame Caroline Dinenage MP said: “The next Charter can provide a springboard for the BBC’s success for years to come.
“The government must ensure the broadcaster has a sustainable and universal source of funding, while the BBC can play its part by sweating its assets and boxing clever for the licence payer by ending illogical practices such as outbidding commercial rivals for overseas hits such as Suits, Schitt’s Creek and Scooby Doo.
“Now is the time for the government and BBC together to grasp the opportunity to create a leaner, more efficient broadcaster that is equipped to compete on the global stage and is a beacon of trust both at home and abroad.”