BBC reveals ambition to double global audience to 500m by 2022
The BBC has announced ambition to double its global audience to 500m by 2022 as part of moves to make its content available ‘everywhere, for everyone’.
To achieve this a suite of new digital products are to be introduced whilst staff are urged to shake off criticism that the organisation has become ‘too big’.
Speaking to employees James Harding, head of news and current affairs, said he wanted: “more sports news, more consumer and personal finance news, more arts and culture news.” His call to action echoes those made by director-general Lord Hall, who said the broadcaster needed to be more ‘aggressive’ in convincing the public it was worth its £145.50 license fee.
This contrasts sharply with the sentiments of home secretary Theresa May, who has previously said that ‘the might of the BBC’ needed to be curtailed to protect local democracy.
In a speech to staff Harding said: “Of course, we have our critics. They say we are too big, too lazy, too wasteful, too left-wing – (a few say we’re too right-wing) - too monolithic, too insensitive, too white, too male, too old.
“And we have no business being defensive or, even worse, dismissive of such criticism.We must, genuinely, be alive to our critics, but we must not be cowed by them. Ultimately, our answer to them is and will be our journalism.”