Tony Hall: ‘The BBC of the internet age will be a BBC truly open to partnership.’
At a speech today to members of the Creative Industries Federation, Tony Hall, the BBC's Director-General, will lay out his commitment to the BBC becoming more open than ever before and acting as a key partner to the UK’s creative industries.
Published: 23 September 2015
I want to open the BBC to become – even more – Britain’s creative partner, to become a platform for this country’s incredible talent, cultural institutions and open up to our audiences in new ways.
He will say: “I want to open the BBC to become – even more – Britain’s creative partner, to become a platform for this country’s incredible talent, cultural institutions and open up to our audiences in new ways. An Open BBC for the internet age will be a BBC that is truly open to partnership.”
He will also announce a new series of seminars across the UK at which the BBC will invite partners to explore how they can use the Corporation’s services to appeal to new audiences.
He will say: “Working with partners, the BBC will convene seminars across the UK with key organisations on some of our proposals to discuss how they want to use an open BBC platform to reach out to new audiences and enthusiasts.”
He will add: “For I believe not in a bigger BBC, but a better BBC, an open BBC acting in Britain's best interests and as a cornerstone of the British creative economy.”
His speech will call on the BBC to learn from recent successful partnerships such as the Make it Digital project and the Get Creative campaign to improve its work as a partner.
He will point to the recent announcements that the BBC is working with some of the country’s leading institutions such as the British Museum, the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Science Museum on the proposed Ideas Service, as well as working with the UK music industry on a new music discovery service and offering to open up BBC iPlayer to others within the sector.
He will be speaking at the Creative Industries Federation seminar on the BBC at King’s College London. This is the culmination of a series of events around the country, in which the Creative Industries Federation have explored the relationship between the BBC, the Creative Industries and the Arts.
John Kampfner, Chief Executive of the Creative Industries Federation, says: “It was always clear to us that the Federation had to investigate the big picture of the BBC’s role across all of the arts and creative industries.
"The BBC is of such importance to the cultural life of Britain that any decisions made now about how it is funded and run in future will have an impact way beyond what the public gets to see and hear on radio, television and online. It will affect the strength and success of the UK's creative output for years to come."
Rona Fairhead, Chair of the BBC Trust will also be speaking at today’s event and will join a discussion with Tony Hall and other panelists, chaired by John Kampfner.
The other panellists will be:
- Simon Curtis - film director and producer
- Jo Dipple - Chief Executive, UK Music
- Baroness Lane-Fox - philanthropist and public servant
- Mark Pemberton - Director of The Association of British Orchestras
- Jo Twist - Chief Executive, The Association for UK Interactive Entertainment
The discussion will closed by Deborah Bull, Director of Culture at King's College London.
Notes to Editors
The Creative Industries Federation is the national membership organisation for the arts, creative industries and cultural education. Today's event in London followed similar seminars held by the Creative Industries Federation in Manchester and Birmingham.
Pictures from the event will be available on the Creative Industries Federation flickr account from approximately 5pm at flickr.com/photos/creativeindustriesfederation/albums
Further details of the BBC’s plans for an Ideas Service, a music discovery service and opening up BBC iPlayer can be found here: bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2015/more-distinctive-bbc
A full transcript of Tony Hall's speech to the Creative Industries Federation is available here.
BBC Press Office
