BBC Studios, the commercial arm of the BBC, has passed £2 billion ($2.7 billion) in sales and nudged up profits to £240 million, but an advertising downturn is hitting its channels and streaming business.
The corporation unveiled its annual report for 2022/2023 on Tuesday amid an ongoing presenter scandal that’s kept the BBC in national headlines since July 6. A planned virtual briefing with top brass was largely taken up by questions about the BBC’s handling of a complaint against one of its presenters, who is accused of paying a teenager for sexually explicit photographs. The host remains unnamed due to privacy concerns.
While BBC Studios CEO Tom Fussell was meant to brief select press about the annual report, this was canceled due to the wider scandal, which saw director general Tim Davie take the brunt of questions from journalists.
The report reflects a record turnover of £2.09 billion for BBC Studios, which is up by 28% over 2022. This has been driven by the company’s production and distribution arm, known as the Content Studio, as well as big long-term partnership deals for brands like “Bluey” and “Dancing With the Stars.”
Profits (EBITDA) rose to £240 million, which is up 6% from £226 million for the period last year, while returns to the BBC came in at £362 million (2021/2022: £353 million), with content investment of £177 million.
The global Content Studio — which houses production, content sales, brands and global licensing – grew over the year, with sales up 40%, and EBITDA up £46 million. Over 75% of studio revenues are now from third parties, including Amazon, Apple and Netflix. This is particularly significant as BBC Studios has instituted a major drive in the last five years to sell into and produce for the global streamers. Key titles included “Dancing With the Stars,” “Happy Valley” and “Sherwood,” while BBC Studios also highlighted coverage of the Platinum Jubilee and Queen Elizabeth’s funeral.
One notable dip over 2022 figures relates to the company’s Channels & Streaming division, which reported turnover of £535 million — down from £536 million last year — but a major decrease in profits to £102 million, down 24% from £120 million. The company blamed inflation, a volatile advertising market and pressure on pay TV subscriptions.
Elsewhere in the report, BBC Studios highlighted its FAST channels division, which now operates 22 channels internationally. The company also revealed that its “Best of British” joint streaming service with ITV, BritBox International, has 3 million subscribers across eight markets including the U.S., Canada, Australia, Nordics and South Africa — up 15% from 2022. In comparison, BBC reached 123 million a month, with plans to “boost the business” Stateside.
BBC Studios revealed a new plan to double the size of the business from March 2021/22 to March 2028. In the annual report, the company explains it will do this by growing its owned IP by “exploiting and expanding new brands, sustaining the performance of linear channels, whilst growing the direct-to-consumer digital services and investing in major customer partnerships.” The business has warned that this will have an impact on profits in the future.
Tom Fussell, CEO of BBC Studios, said: “I’m extremely proud of these results, which show the strength of our content driving our growth strategy. Our global Content Studio had an exceptional year, growing by nearly half and winning awards for creativity and craft across all genres, as well as covering significant national moments with distinction. Revenue held steady overall in our channels and streaming services internationally, despite ongoing external challenges posed by inflation and volatility in the advertising market, and we made further investment into production labels, BBC and UKTV to promote and sustain future growth.”
“Looking ahead, we have bold ambitions to double the business by 2028, while investing for future growth and market volatility, which will impact short term profitability,” said Fussell. “At the same time, we are continually transforming our culture to prioritise inclusion, operate sustainably and put performance at the heart of everything we do.”
