8 JAN 2021

HOW THE PANDEMIC IMPACTED BBC’S COMMERCIAL OPERATIONS?

The British pubcaster has revalued its three non-license fee-funded units (BBC Studios, BBC Global News and studios facility BBC Studioworks) at £1.3 billion ($1.8 billion) since the pandemic swept through the British media industry in early 2020.

8 JAN 2021

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The coronavirus pandemic has wiped £318 million ($433 million) off the combined value of the BBC’s commercial operations, including BBC Studios, responsible for global shows such as “Doctor Who,” “Good Omens” and “Top Gear,” Deadline reported.

According to the site, the British pubcaster has revalued its three non-license fee-funded units (BBC Studios, BBC Global News and studios facility BBC Studioworks) at £1.3 billion ($1.8 billion) since the pandemic swept through the British media industry in early 2020. That’s down nearly a fifth (19%) on 2019’s valuation of £1.6 billion ($2.1 billion).

In total, the pandemic forced BBC Studios to discontinue production of 80 shows. The company had also previously reported that the ad market fall had had a "significant impact" on the revenue of the BBC Global News channel.

Apparently, the £318 million write-off, disclosed in the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport’s annual report, was calculated last year at a time when there was great uncertainty regarding growth forecasts. However, the BBC remains confident of recovering the money lost during 2020 in the next two years.

In the meantime, the broadcaster has put in place measures to preserve cash flow. This includes cutting costs by £140M, much of which is simply a byproduct of productions being delayed. The group also significantly reduced its commercial dividend (the amount of cash it returns to the BBC’s public service operations) from £73 million in 2019 to £3 million last year.

BBC