We’re not going to beat Netflix but we need to be ‘radically different’, says BBC chief

Director-general Tim Davie told MPs he is optimistic the BBC can ‘retain reach and retain our value’
Director-general Tim Davie said the BBC needs to provide value for money
PA

The BBC’s director-general Tim Davie has hit back at suggestions the future of the BBC is under threat from streaming platforms, such as Netflix.

Speaking to MPs at Public Accounts Committee via a video link today, he said the role of the broadcaster “is not to beat Netflix”.

The rebuke comes a week after the broadcaster announced plans to sell off property in London and move hundreds of employees out of the capital.

Mr Davie said: “My personal view is we can fight and preserve universality but we have to be incredibly well focused on where we differentiate ourselves versus the rest of the market.

“We’ve always sat alongside competition, I’ve been very clear here - our role is not to beat Netflix

“We are not going to beat them. We need to do something radically different.”

Facing questions from the committee, Mr Davie spoke of how the BBC has an edge on major US streaming platforms because it produces much more homegrown content.

“The issue is the BBC needs to be highly distinctive, whether that be Bitesize education provision, locally made drama,” he said. “I remain optimistic that we can retain reach and retain our value.

“I’ve been very clear with the BBC, there is jeopardy there and we don’t have the inalienable right to exist.”

It also faces increased competition from one of its former star political interviewers - Andrew Neil - who left the corporation and now leads rival GB News.

But Mr Davie said the public broadcaster has the means to face its challenges and denied that the digital era had left it behind.

He said: “Not everything has to be a threat - the fact that six million students went to Bitesize largely through online, we put it back on linear for households that didn’t have good broadband connections.

“If you look at some medium-sized dramas, they’re doing as much volume on iPlayer [as linear].

“Thank goodness we’ve got iPlayer, thank goodness we’ve got Sounds and we can start to re-shape our delivery.”

He told MPs that, despite vocal criticism of the organisation, people are continuing to tune into the BBC - but said his biggest concern is people who “are not connected” with its many TV channels or radio stations.

Mr Davie added: “Overall, reach is holding up, so even a lot of people who are dissatisfied or want the BBC to do more for them or feel we may have got the wrong view on something, largely the research is that they are still coming to the BBC

“If I’m going to be blunt with the committee, the people I am most worried about are those people who the BBC is not part of their repertoire, or younger people who are not connected with the BBC.

“There is nothing more important for an organisation like ourselves than to make sure our core audience of viewers and listeners are sticking with us.”

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