British Broadcasting Corporation
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The British Broadcasting Corporation (usually known as the BBC) is the principal public service broadcaster in the United Kingdom.
The BBC is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff.[1][2][3] Its global headquarters is located in London, and its main responsibility is to provide public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.
The BBC is an autonomous public service broadcaster[3] that exists and operates under a Royal Charter.[4] Within the United Kingdom its work is funded principally by an annual television licence fee,[5] which is charged to all United Kingdom households, companies and organisations using any type of equipment to record and/or receive live television broadcasts;[6] the level of the fee is set annually by the British Government and agreed by Parliament.[7]
Outside the United Kingdom, the BBC World Service has provided services by direct broadcasting and re-transmission contracts by sound radio since the inauguration of the BBC Empire Service in December 1932, and more recently by television and online. Though sharing some of the facilities of the domestic services, particularly for news and current affairs output, the World Service has a separate Managing Director, and its operating costs have historically been funded mainly by direct grants from the UK government. These grants were determined independently of the domestic licence fee. A recent spending review has announced plans for the funding for the world service to be drawn from the domestic licence fee.
The Corporation's 'guaranteed' income from the licence fee and the World Service grants are supplemented by profits from commercial operations through a wholly owned subsidiary, BBC Worldwide Ltd. The company's activities include intellectual property licensing, programme sales and format sales, magazines including Radio Times and book publishing. The BBC also earns additional income from selling certain programme-making services through BBC Studios and Post Production Ltd, formerly BBC Resources Ltd, another wholly owned trading subsidiary of the corporation.
References
- ↑ "BBC: World's largest broadcaster & Most trusted media brand". Media Newsline. http://www.medianewsline.com/news/151/ARTICLE/4930/2009-08-13.html. Retrieved 23 September 2010.
- ↑ "Digital license". Prospect. http://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/?p=64654. Retrieved 23 September 2010.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "About the BBC – What is the BBC". BBC Online. http://www.bbc.co.uk/info/purpose/what.shtml. Retrieved 23 September 2010. Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "AboutBBC" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ Andrews, Leighton (2005). "The handbook of public affairs". SAGE. pp. 247–48. ISBN 9780761943938.
- ↑ "BBC Annual Report & Accounts 2008/9: FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE". http://www.bbc.co.uk/annualreport/trust/overview/finan_perf.shtml. Retrieved 12 February 2010.
- ↑ "TV Licensing: Legislation and policy". http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/about/legislation-and-policy-AB9/#link1. Retrieved 12 February 2010.
- ↑ "BBC Press Office: TV Licence Fee: facts & figures". http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/keyfacts/stories/licencefee.shtml. Retrieved 12 February 2010.