BBC

Since its inception, the BBC has been one of the world's leading broadcasting organisations. It remains so today – one if the few examples of British institutions to retain such a position for 80 years. Its public service mission - to inform, educate and entertain - is as pertinent today as it has ever been.

Size is not the only criterion by which its leadership should be measured but its scale is remarkable. It is one of the largest broadcasters in the world, in terms of the number of people employed. It employs 2,000 journalists, making it the largest single news organisation in the world; it operates the widest-reaching international news gathering network of any broadcaster, with 44 news bureaux and correspondents in nearly every country of the world. The BBC generates a daily output of approximately 120 hours of radio and television plus its online news coverage. It operates in 33 languages around the world.

In a global sea of news, where anyone can be a journalist, broadcaster and publisher, trust matters.

In an era of fake news and “post-truth”, trusted, impartial news services - that are publicly accountable - are vital. Few brands of news provider are trusted as much as the BBC.

If soft power is important to the UK, then the BBC is essential. For more than 80 years, it has reached across the world. The BBC World Service reaches 246 million people each week. BBC Online is one of the world's 100 most popular websites. One seriously important recent decision: to expand the coverage of the World Service.

The BBC is also one of the top salesmen of British intellectual property. In 2016, it was one of the world’s leading producers of content, with more than 340 new programmes produced. It is also the nation's lead player on the world media stage, and one in which we have spent many decades investing in it a competitive advantage. Currently the BBC spends £1.1bn each year in the wider UK creative economy.

Read the full BBC Annual Report