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BBC director-general Tim Davie has admitted “that the BBC is not perfect and sometimes we make mistakes” but that the national broadcaster “deserves backing” after a bruising few weeks of scandals at the corporation that led to questions over his future.
On Tuesday, Davie gave his first public response to a slew of scandals at the national broadcaster at the publication of its annual report, saying: “We’ve certainly been through a tough period, and there are some tough days.”
His comments come after another difficult summer for bosses at the BBC, which has faced angry criticism over a series of programmes including a documentary into Gaza and coverage of Glastonbury, as well as what the corporation knew about the conduct of MasterChef star Gregg Wallace.
On Tuesday, chair Samir Shah said that “several people” had been dismissed following the introduction of stronger policies for reporting abusive behaviour.
On Tuesday, the BBC reported a deficit of £132mn in its annual report for 2024-25, almost half the £263mn deficit reported last year. The figures show the financial challenges facing the national broadcaster as it enters crunch talks over its long term future funding as part of a charter renewal process.
The BBC reported revenue of £5.9bn, up from £5.6bn a year earlier, with licence fee income totalling £3.8bn after an annual inflationary price rise.
However, the number of people paying for a licence last year dropped from 24.1mn to 23.8mn, showing that more people are switching off traditional TV for online rivals such as Netflix and YouTube.
BBC Commercial — which makes and sells shows in the UK and internationally, and licenses formats and brands — increased revenue by £300mn to £2.2bn.
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