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The BBC needs to do more to reach and resonate with viewers and listeners on lower incomes, Ofcom has found in its annual report on the BBC’s performance.
“Our report finds that people in lower socio-economic groups, who account for almost a quarter of the UK population, are less engaged and less satisfied with the BBC,” the British regulator Ofcom said Wednesday, adding it would launch an in-depth review to find out the reasons.
“We also want the BBC to set out, clearly and publicly, its overall strategy for improving perceptions among disenfranchised audiences, including how it is drawing and acting on viewer and listener research,” it added.
The lower income audience, Ofcom pointed out, watches, listens to, or browses BBC content, including news, less than the rest of the population, and is least satisfied with how they are represented and portrayed in programmes. Staff from lower socio-economic backgrounds are also under-represented within the BBC’s own workforce, the regulator pointed out.
The BBC faces a challenging market and economic climate, the regulator said in a statement, pointing out the British broadcaster is seeking to address these challenges in a strategy to become a ‘Digital First’ organisation.
As it undergoes this transition, Ofcom expects the BBC to continue to deliver for all audiences, and will hold it to account in areas where it needs to do more.
These measures include protecting local audiences as it seeks to make changes to its news and current affairs; improving its complaints handling; and being more transparent about changes it intends to make to its licence-fee funded public services.
Ofcom also said that after carefully considering a request from the BBC, it is giving the broadcaster a go-ahead for it to increase its catalogue of older content on iPlayer — content like past series of returning titles that would mean greater choice and better value for licence-fee payers.
The annual report covers the period April 2021 to March 2022 and assesses how the BBC is meeting the needs of the people it serves.
