BBC director general Tony Hall: 'Broadcasters must fight US firms to protect British values'

Mr Hall will announce his plans on Wednesday
AFP/Getty Images
Martin Coulter4 March 2018

British public service broadcasters must fight off competition from US competitors to "protect our values", according to BBC director general Tony Hall.

He is expected to tell BBC staff that storytelling that reflects "the lives and passions of our own square mile" is what truly appeals to audiences in a speech on Wednesday.

Mr Hall will set out how he believes the values of public service broadcasters matter "more than ever" in an era of persistent fake news and ahead of a post-Brexit landscape.

"Today, Netflix and Amazon are available in over half of British homes, they are services that are admired and trusted, and yet, on average, the great majority of television output viewed in the UK each day is still British content. Even among younger audiences.

"So don't let anyone kid you that British programming no longer matters to our audiences, even younger ones.

"Instead, we know audiences in the UK are still drawn inexorably to storytelling that reflects the lives and passions of our own square mile."

Ten years ago, around 83 per cent of independent production companies in the UK were either UK or European-owned, the BBC said. Today, US multinationals own around 60 per cent.

Acknowledging the BBC was "maybe" not the biggest kid on the block anymore, Mr Hall will claim that, nevertheless, "nobody is fighting harder for Britain and for our audiences".

UK public broadcasters will be able to thrive as long as reform is sped up to keep pace with the current challenges, he will say.

"The country needs a BBC that helps society understand itself better ... that explores our nation's differences passionately and robustly ... that projects British creativity and values globally ... that reminds us every day of the things we hold in common, not just the things that divide us.

"These are not the passions of the West Coast giants - why would they be? They are our passions."

Additional reporting by the Press Association

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