BBC - Public Service Broadcaster
The BBC is the biggest example of a public service broadcaster within the UK. A public service broadcaster is one which provides channels intended for the benefit of the public rather than commercial advertising purposes. Their main purpose is to entertain, accurately inform and educate the general public which BBC does through all of it's channels compared to other providers such as Channel 4 which only do so on their main channel. The BBC has been regulated since 2017 by Ofcom to hold the editorial standards and ensure that it meets all the requirements to remain as a public service broadcaster.
The BBC is primarily funded through the annual license fee charged on every household, company and organisation which chooses to use any form of TV either live or on iplayer. This is currently £157.50 a year and funds all of BBCs television, radio and online programs. However, it is also added to by income from 3 other main sources: BBC Studios, BBC Global News and BBC Studioworks.
Many different TV channels such as BBC 1-4 and kids channels such as CBeebies and CBBC are all owned by the BBC - each with their different brands and themes. Furthermore, specific channels dedicated to documentaries such as BBC Earth are also owned along with BBC Canada and BBC America allowing for further globalisation of BBC shows. The BBC also owns a wide range of radio stations - including BBC Radio 1 - which works as a platform for artists to release new music on in order to boost both the radio and the artists listening. Websites such as CBBC for games and BBC Bitesize are also owned - further allowing educational resources for ages 4-16. These multiple divisions of the BBC such as education, news, children programs, tv and radio allow for a wide range of audiences. Furthermore, the BBC owns many recognisable brands from their most popular shows such as Doctor Who and Sherlock.
While the BBC cuts costs by producing their own TV and radio shows, their DVD's and merchandise are now created by external companies since the BBC online store closed in 2016. This merchandise included many images from their intellectual properties and brands such as Doctor Who and the TARDIS, planet earth and CBeebies merchandise for children. By owning their own streaming service, radio stations and TV channels distribution of advertisement and their TV shows is made much easier as it can be vertically integrated and kept within the company without the cost of using external companies. However this means that if one part of the company fails, the others are likely to due to the reliance.
The BBC has elements of cross-media due to producing educations resources such as books and revisions websites as well as entertaining TV shows and radio shows. They have also gone on many joint ventures such as partnering with Alton Towers to create CBeebies land - a product of their intellectual properties and a popular children's attraction due to being such a popular channel. This benefits both parties due to increasing the amount of children visiting the park along with the BBC gaining an income from the use of their images.
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