What does the future hold for the BBC?

The appointment of a new Ofcom chair will shed light on the future direction of the BBC. Sean O’Grady considers the runners and riders

The BBC is a rare example of a globally recognised British brand and has huge potential to bolster the cause of ‘global Britain’ (Getty)

Next year the BBC celebrates its centenary, a 100-year journey during the course of which it went from a pioneering private company, broadcasting to a tiny but fast-growing audience of households with wondrous wireless receivers, to today’s global cultural powerhouse, reaching across every traditional and internet channel. It is trusted, respected, loved and admired, and such are its strength and reputation that it has been able to survive world wars, strikes, social upheavals, scandals, and attempts at political interference by virtually every prime minister since Stanley Baldwin’s time. The Reithian mission – to inform, educate and entertain – has endured.

Less happily, 2022 marks the beginning of the mid-term review of the corporation’s Royal Charter, technically due to expire in 2027. The 10-year “lease” on the nation’s airwaves, funded by a licence fee, has usually been the subject of some negotiation at around this point in its lifespan, but the Cameron government made it a formal staging post. The last round of talks saw the BBC pushed into accepting the cost of free TV licences for the over-75s, in return for a modestly increased licence fee for everyone else. The next round will be even more fractious.