Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden questions future of public service broadcasting

EastEnders is one of the BBC's most popular shows

Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden says there is genuine debate over whether "we need" public service broadcasters such as the BBC and Channel 4.

He told The Telegraph it was time to "ask really profound questions" about their role in the digital age - "and indeed whether we need them at all".

Mr Dowden is set to announce a new panel of experts to assess the future of public service broadcasting.

The BBC said it "continues to innovate, adapt and lead change".

In his article, Mr Dowden said Netflix and Amazon Prime had "lobbed a grenade into the system".

He added that the panel of broadcasting, journalism and technology leaders would not be "tiptoeing around the edges" but rather "drilling right down into the current system and how it operates".

The culture secretary says the BBC must reflect the views of the "entire nation"

He continued: "Public service broadcasting has already lived, adapted and thrived through a hundred years of history. It's time to start thinking about what it does next."

In a statement, a BBC spokesman said: "The past few months have served as a powerful reminder of just how much the BBC matters locally, nationally and globally. Our programmes and services have never been more relevant, important or necessary."

The BBC is "the number one media provider in the UK", the statement added. "And while the world is changing swiftly, so is the BBC. We will continue to innovate, adapt and lead change.

"We welcome the government's commitment to conducting an open and transparent process. We look forward to working with government to secure the right funding settlement for the BBC and its audiences."

'Flying the flag for Britain'

Members on the public service broadcasting panel will include Conservative peer Lord Grade, who has previously been chairman of the BBC, executive chairman of ITV and CEO of Channel 4; Baroness Bertin, a former press secretary to David Cameron; and Sir Robbie Gibb, the former director of communications to Theresa May and former head of BBC Westminster.

Joining them will be Andrew Griffith MP, Boris Johnson's former business tsar and former chief operating officer of Sky Group PLC; and Nicola Mendelsohn, Facebook's vice president for Europe.

Several former senior executives of Sky, ITN and Endemol Shine are also on the panel.

Channel 4's The Great British Bake Off is attracting 10 million viewers a week

The panel will advise ministers on a strategic review of all public broadcasters, including ITV, Channel 5, STV in Scotland and S4C in Wales, looking at whether their current funding and governance arrangements are "fit for purpose".

The Telegraph said the panel was also expected to look at whether the broadcasters should continue to have prominence on channel menus by virtue of their status.

'Harangued or ignored'

The news comes as the government launches negotiations to decide how much the TV licence fee will cost between 2022 and 2027. That will determine how much funding the BBC and S4C receive.

Mr Dowden has written to the BBC asking how it intends to make savings, including through the salaries of its on-air talent; how it will support the vulnerable, elderly and lowest paid; and how it intends to "fly the flag for Britain in every corner of the world".

The culture secretary praised the role of the BBC during the coronavirus pandemic but argued that "a growing number of viewers feel harangued or ignored" in news, drama and comedy and it must change to ensure it reflects the views of the "entire nation".

He wrote: "Someone switching on their TV from their semi in Bradford should feel just as represented by the Beeb as a person watching in their Islington townhouse."

Speaking at the Creative Coalition 2020 festival on Tuesday, BBC director general Tim Davie admitted the corporation needs to "fundamentally change" how it recruits employees.

He said that while he is not "anti-Oxbridge", jobs should be accessible to people who do not have the same academic background.

Last month, Mr Dowden said Channel 4 privatisation was "on the table".

The channel was launched in 1982 as a publicly-owned, commercially-funded public service broadcaster.

It does not receive public funding and has a remit to deliver "innovative, alternative content that challenges the status quo".