The report shows that the 大象传媒 is at the heart of national life and is the go-to media brand in the UK, with 95% of UK adults using our services on average per month.
We continue to deliver for audiences across the UK, and abroad, but we know we must accelerate the pace of change to increase relevance and value in a time of limitless choice and interactivity.
In March, we set out a long-term ambitious plan to prioritise, and focus our resources on, three essential roles: to pursue truth with no agenda; to back the best homegrown storytelling; and to bring people together.
Samir Shah, 大象传媒 Chair, said: 鈥淭he 大象传媒 matters deeply to the UK, and continues to play an important role on the global stage.
鈥淲ith the Board, I look forward to overseeing progress with the solid plans in place to preserve the benefits of public service broadcasting for all, and to ensure the 大象传媒 can deliver for audiences well into the future.鈥�
Tim Davie, 大象传媒 Director-General, said: 鈥淭his year鈥檚 Annual Report shows how we are transforming at pace to deliver for all audiences in the digital age.
鈥淲e remain firmly focussed on prioritising our resources into building a 大象传媒 for the future that can deliver crucial benefits for the UK at a critical time 鈥� and help support a healthy democracy, a thriving creative economy, and a strong society.鈥�
Content
More people, by far, get their news from the 大象传媒 than from any other source and 鈥� across all our services 鈥� 35 million UK adults came to the 大象传媒 per day across 2023/24.
We are now the only UK provider to appear in the top five most-used media brands for young people and it was another record-breaking year for 大象传媒 Sounds and 大象传媒 iPlayer, with both seeing a significant increase in the number of weekly active accounts.
The 大象传媒 was the place to go for unmissable moments. We brought people together for the Coronation of King Charles III, watched by an average audience of 14.6 million, and the Eurovision Grand Final in Liverpool, watched by an average audience of 10 million on the night.
We saw huge audiences for homegrown storytelling across all genres, from Doctor Who and Planet Earth III to Ghosts and The Traitors. It was an incredible year for distinctly British drama from across the UK, including Blue Lights, Shetland, Steeltown Murders, Sherwood and The Responder.
大象传媒 Radio continues to be the market leader in the audio space, with over 30 million adults listening on average per week 鈥� more than any other broadcast radio company or on-demand player. Radio 2 is the UK鈥檚 number one station overall, Radio 4 the number one speech station and 6 Music the biggest digital-only service.
Across the UK
Our Across the UK plan remains mission critical and has now entered its second phase. It is currently on track to exceed its 拢700 million spend target outside of London. To date, the programme has seen the 大象传媒 deliver more than 拢200 million of cumulative investment across its programming and services, including more than 350 roles being relocated outside of London. Over 54% of our workforce are now based outside of London.
In 2023/24, the 大象传媒 achieved its target to spend 60% of the Network TV budget outside of London and we are on track to sustain this permanently by 2026. While 44% of total radio and music production spend was outside of London, and we are well on the way to achieving the 50% target by the end of the current Charter.
Transparency and impartiality
We鈥檙e building trust with our audiences with a laser-sharp focus on transparency, spearheaded by the launch of 大象传媒 Verify. The team fact-check, counter disinformation, analyse data and explain complex stories in the pursuit of truth. This year we鈥檒l be taking 大象传媒 Verify to audiences worldwide.
In May, we demonstrated our continued commitment to impartiality by publishing our second independent thematic review, on 大象传媒 coverage of migration, and announced the next review into our output on authentic and accurate portrayal and representation.
Finance and commercial
大象传媒 Studios achieved a solid year of performance, despite a backdrop of challenging trading conditions, with sales of 拢1.9 billion (2022/23: 拢2.1 billion). An increase to our borrowing limits has kickstarted further investment and the recent acquisition of streaming service BritBox International demonstrates our sustainable future growth plans.
We aim to double our commercial business by 2027/28, generating additional content and funding for the 大象传媒.
While licences in force declined by 2% year-on-year, the vast majority of our audiences remained committed to paying the licence fee and 95% of public service spend was directed to content and its delivery.
In real terms, the licence fee generated 30% more income in 2010/11 than it does today 鈥� a difference of more than 拢1 billion a year. We have been clear that the significant funding pressure we are under means we need to make further savings, on top of the major savings and reinvestment we have already made, to deliver the most value for audiences.
Transformation
We are becoming a leaner, more agile organisation, and we are accelerating our digital-first approach to reach audiences where they are. Public service roles continue to reduce this year, with headcount down 10% in the last five years; a reduction of almost 2,000 roles.
Over the course of the next two years, we will look to further move the money we have into the priority areas that provide real value for audiences. This means, in public service, we will close and transfer roles in some areas, and create roles in growth areas. By the end of March 2026, we expect to see a total reduction of around 500 public service roles.
Workforce diversity
We鈥檝e made progress towards our overall 50:20:12:25 Diversity and Inclusion targets for the year, but there is much to do to ensure we remain representative of our audiences as we get smaller as an organisation. Disability and ethnicity are behind our expected ambition and both will be a focus of our refreshed D&I strategy which will be released in the coming year.
The report demonstrates delivery on all three of our key pillars.
We pursue the truth with no agenda ;
- 75% of UK adults use 大象传媒 News on average per week 鈥� well ahead of the next nearest provider
- 1.3m 12-15 year olds in the UK follow the news with the 大象传媒 鈥� higher than any other organisation
- We carry the UK鈥檚 voice, values, and influence to a weekly audience of 450 million people worldwide
- We are the world鈥檚 most trusted international news provider
We back the best homegrown storytelling;
- We contributed almost 拢5 billion to the UK economy last year and for every 拢1 of the 大象传媒鈥檚 direct economic activity, 拢2.63 is generated in the UK economy
- Half of our economic impact is outside London 鈥� versus 20% for the wider industry
- 99% of our original content is made in the UK 鈥� we are the largest single investor in UK-made programming.
- We won 14 BAFTA TV awards in 2024 鈥� more than any other broadcaster or streamer
We bring people together;
- 大象传媒 coverage reached 25.2m people in the UK on the day of the Coronation of HM The King and HM The Queen Consort
- There were a record 8.1bn streaming requests on 大象传媒 iPlayer 鈥� up 10% on the year before
- Of the UK鈥檚 top 10 most viewed programmes in 2023, seven were on the 大象传媒, highlighting our ongoing importance and relevance for today鈥檚 audiences
- People spent 5hrs 44m watching 大象传媒 TV/iPlayer on average per week 鈥� more than all the big SVOD streamers combined
大象传媒 Press Office
Notes to editors:
- The 大象传媒 has also today published its Diversity Commissioning Code of Practice Progress Report and Commissioning Supply Report for 2023/24.
- The Diversity Commissioning Code of Practice shows the 大象传媒 has invested 拢243.3m into diverse TV and radio programming during the last three years 鈥� more than doubling the 大象传媒鈥檚 original commitment 鈥� and making progress with embedding inclusion across the industry, including through The Access Project (TAP).
- The Commissioning Supply Report demonstrates that in a challenging year for the sector we delivered a huge range of distinctive output across TV and Radio, working with 525 production companies and supported by a number of industry partners. We continued to deliver on commissioning content across the UK, including reaching our target for 60% of Network TV spend in the Nations and English regions ahead of schedule, and made progress on our contestability commitments with 61% of eligible Network Radio hours open to competition.