BBC Surpasses Creative Diversity Commitment Goal with Over $2 Billion Investment in Original Content
The BBC has exceeded its Creative Diversity Commitment target by investing a remarkable £128.5 million ($165.7 million) into TV and radio content within the first two years, achieving this milestone ahead of schedule. Originally pledging £112 million to promote on-screen and on-air diversity and inclusion in 2020, the commitment faced skepticism from some UK industry leaders who dismissed it as “smoke and mirrors.”
However, the BBC has proven its critics wrong, broadcasting a wide array of TV programs that authentically reflect diverse audiences, while nurturing a wide range of voices and embracing diverse casts and crews. Notable examples include “My Name Is Leon,” “Avoidance,” “The Wedding,” and the “Women’s Euros.”
In the second year of the commitment, the BBC invested £61 million in original content supporting a total of 118 TV programs, following a £59 million investment in the first year across 92 programs. Additionally, they allocated £8.5 million to support 290 diverse radio commissions over the past two years.
Chinny Okolidoh, BBC Director of Diversity and Inclusion, emphasized the corporation’s dedication to making a positive difference across the industry. “Diversity and inclusion is an absolute priority for the BBC, and we’re fully committed to reflecting our audiences and improving representation, inclusion, and accessibility even further across our content,” she said.
The commitment to diversity has also bolstered the BBC’s original TV content, which saw a remarkable increase to £1.6 billion ($2.06 billion), resulting in 28,000 hours of programming.
Despite this impressive progress, the BBC acknowledges that there is still more work to be done across the entire industry. The corporation is actively collaborating with other broadcasters and streamers to ensure a positive and lasting impact on diversity and inclusion in the media landscape.
