IS BRITAIN'S FAVOURITE PUBLIC SERVICE BROADCASTER AT A CROSSROADS?

100 YEARS ON, AND WITH IT'S REPUTATION AT STAKE, SURELY IT'S TIME TO MODERNISE AND COMPETE WITH NEW PLAYERS.

The BBC has long stood as a unique broadcasting institution, a publicly funded, universally accessible, and a cornerstone of British culture. Yet its standing with the public has been tested in recent years. From editorial controversies to political storms over impartiality, the question arises: is the BBC we know still fit for today?

For decades, its funding model (the licence fee) has been it’s protector, yet the noose around it’s neck. While the licence fee enables independence from commercial and political influence, it also anchors the BBC in a model increasingly at odds with modern media consumption. Younger audiences stream; older audiences question value; governments of all persuasions clash with the corporation’s leadership. And now, as public trust fluctuates and the media landscape shifts faster, the BBC faces against that backdrop, a question the BBC has long dodged: should it start allowing advertising, at least on some of its digital services?

A New Funding Model for a New Media Era

Opening certain BBC platforms (such as iPlayer) to limited, carefully managed advertising could provide a hybrid model that supports public service broadcasting while easing pressure on the licence fee.  In fact, plenty of public broadcasters abroad already mix licence fees with commercial funding without losing their soul. For example,  Australia’s ABC and Canada’s CBC, use supplementary advertising or sponsorship without morphing into a fully commercialised model.

For the UK, the benefits could be significant:

• Economic Boost: At a time when the UK advertising sector is on a downward spiral, navigating volatility, bringing a brand as trusted and far-reaching as the BBC into the marketplace could inject new energy

  
  

• Licence Fee Relief: Even partial commercialisation could help maintain or reduce licence costs without forcing cuts to journalism, content, and regional reporting

  
  

• Digital Modernisation: As streaming platforms (such as You Tube and Amazon) increasingly operate through mixed funding models (subscription + ads), the BBC risks becoming financially obsolete and not fit for the future.

  
  

Impartiality Is Not Incompatible With Commercialisation

A frequent argument against advertising is that it risks undermining editorial neutrality, but impartiality isn’t about where your money comes from, it’s about the rules you set and how well you stick to them. It’s governance and culture. Newspapers, broadcasters, and even technology platforms navigate commercial pressures daily while maintaining editorial standards.

If anything, taking some pressure off the licence fee could make the BBC less vulnerable to the current political tug-of-war. A more sustainable funding structure could strengthen the BBC’s journalistic integrity, and certainly make it less vulnerable.

The Reputation Question in the Age of AI

If the BBC’s reputation has taken knocks from both recent and historical missteps, it remains one of the most trusted broadcasters in the world. Where AI-generated disinformation is now a daily reality.

Let’s be honest: the BBC’s reputation has taken a few knocks over the years, but even so, it remains a global anchor of reliability in the world. All in an age where AI can churn out dodgy stories at the touch of a button. Trust is becoming a rare commodity, and the BBC cannot lose grip of this.

This is the BBC’s strongest asset. As AI reshapes news, entertainment, and advertising, a BBC that evolves could become a global beacon of reliability, a role that might justify not just the licence fee, but new commercial opportunities. Rather than diminishing its values, a carefully calibrated move towards advertising could help the BBC invest in innovation, and morph into a platform for an algorithmic age.

A Sensible Move, Not a Sell-Out

The BBC stands at a crossroads. It can continue defending a funding model that grows more politically vulnerable each year, or it can modernise, cautiously, and in a way that protects both its public mission and its financial future.

The question isn’t whether the BBC should ditch its identity. It’s whether it can afford to stand still while everything around it changes, while holding fast to what matters most: independence, impartiality, and trust.

The main terrestrial channels (BBC1 and BBC2) should for the moment remain untouched. However, I’d welcome a Christmas Day ad break, after the Kings Speech, dedicated to UK charities. A moment of generosity in a day built on tradition, and a way for the BBC to support causes across the country without compromising its values.

The BBC and the 1920’s when it was formed, never imagined the complexity of the media landscape 100 years later. Amid all that noise, the BBC can still inform, educate, and connect, but it needs a dose of modern thinking to ensure it survives another century.

Perhaps the question isn’t whether the BBC can become more commercial, but whether it can afford not to.