UK Committee: BBC Should Stop Outbidding Rivals for Foreign Content

The UK Parliament's cross-party Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee has published a report on the BBC's future, recommending that the broadcaster stop paying over the odds for overseas content acquisitions.

The committee said the BBC should not outbid commercial UK broadcasters for foreign content, calling it poor value for the licence fee payer.

It also called on the government to broaden the scope of the licence fee during BBC charter renewal negotiations so it is no longer linked to a particular device or activity, and to keep an open mind about a household levy that could add a BBC tax to a utility or broadband bill.

The recommendations land amid a long-running debate over how the BBC spends public money. In July, BBC director general Matt Brittin appeared before the committee and said less than 5% of the BBC's content budget is spent on foreign acquisitions. He also said the BBC would examine acquisitions as part of efforts to save £500M ($670M) over the next three years.

In recent years, ITV has consistently raised the issue of the BBC using public funds to compete for content, and in a written submission urged a charter rule preventing this. Ministers, however, have repeatedly ruled out a household levy for the BBC.