BBC Trust

The BBC Trust has launched a consultation seeking industry and audience views on a set of principles governing the BBC’s approach to making its content and services on TV, radio and online widely available to audiences.

The draft distribution framework covers the distribution of TV, radio and online services, including iPlayer and Red Button services, to any device used to access them including TVs, radios, PCs, tablets, games platforms, set top boxes, and mobile phones. 

For the first time, this will bring together in one place the Trust’s requirements for making both the BBC’s broadcast (linear) and on-demand content widely available to audiences. 

Under the principles proposed by the Trust, BBC services and content should be:

• Universal: Every household in the country should have access to each BBC service on at least one platform free at the point at use. 
• Value for money: The BBC should be able to demonstrate that the value delivered to licence fee payers through the distribution of its services and content, outweighs the cost of distributing it. 
• Open and transparent: The BBC should make its approach to distribution transparent for the benefit of audiences and others in the market.
• Easy to find: BBC services should be sufficiently prominent on platforms and devices that they are easily found.

In addition, with more and more ways to find and watch/listen to/read BBC content the Trust believes it is important that the BBC can retain a direct relationship with audiences through its distribution activity, and the Framework sets out how we think this is best achieved. 

BBC Trustee Suzanna Taverne said:

"The BBC is a universal service and audiences should be able to access BBC programmes and content easily and in the ways they want. The principles and requirements we set out today aim to ensure this remains the case and the BBC keeps pace with the rapid changes in the market; and to make it clear to audiences and the industry what we expect from the BBC and its partners in this area."

An eight-week consultation has been launched today, seeking views on the draft framework and whether it is an appropriate and proportionate approach. 

The draft framework and consultation can be found here.

Notes to Editors

1.  A new framework for BBC distribution was first proposed in the BBC Trust and BBC Executive review of internal governance.