The BBC has announced plans to merge BBC Studios and BBC Worldwide into a single organisation to be known as BBC Studios.
It will bring the BBC into line with the rest of the sector by integrating programme production, sales and distribution in a single entity.
A simplified organisation will bring together the range of commercial activities already carried out by BBC Worldwide, including content financing, sales and commercial channels – and BBC Studios, the BBC’s main programme production arm.
The two already work together closely. Documentary series Blue Planet II is produced by BBC Studios but three-quarters funded by BBC Worldwide and its partners.
BBC Director-General Tony Hall says: “In a fast-changing TV industry, securing the future success of the BBC is vital. Creating a single BBC Studios will bring the BBC in line with the industry, be simpler and more efficient. It will help ensure that licence fee payers in the UK continue to receive outstanding British programmes which reflect British lives, long into the future.”
BBC Worldwide was formed in 1995 out of the old BBC Enterprises. BBC Studios with a rich heritage in BBC production was only formed in April 2016, moving some of the BBC’s most popular shows from the public to private sector.
The new BBC Studios will be led by Chief Executive Officer Tim Davie and Chief Creative Officer Mark Linsey.
