British Broadcasting Corporation Room BC2 A4 Broadcast Centre White City Wood Lane London W12 7TP
Telephone 020 8008 2882 Email xxx@xxx.xx.xx
Information Rights
bbc.co.uk/foi
bbc.co.uk/privacy
Mr Geoff Rooks
Sent via email only: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx
29 October 2021
Dear Mr Rooks,
Freedom of Information request – RFI20211563
Thank you for your request to the BBC of 17 October 2021 seeking the following information
under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (‘the Act’) about BBC programmes:
“
[…]
Q1, How does the BBC sell programs [sic].
Q2, How much money is made from world wide sales, in the last 10 financial years.
Q3, How much money has been re-invested to off set the cost of the licence fee, last 10
financial years.
Q4, How much money is received from BBC Studies [sic] for the last 10 financial years.”
‘
Q1, How does the BBC sell programs [sic]’
As set out in section 6(1)(b)(i ) of the Act, our subsidiaries (including BBC Studioworks Limited,
UKTV, BBC Global News Ltd and BBC Studios Ltd), as well as the charities BBC Media Action
and BBC Children in Need, are not subject to the Act. Therefore information regarding their
activities is also not subject to the Act.
For more information on BBC Studios, please follow this link to their website,
https://www.bbcstudios.com/.
‘
Q2, How much money is made from world wide sales, in the last 10 financial years’,
Q3, How much
money has been re-invested to off set the cost of the licence fee, last 10 financial years’ and ‘
Q4,
How much money is received from BBC Studies [sic] for the last 10 financial years’
This information is accessible to you by other means. Therefore, under section 21 of the Act,
we are not required to provide it to you.
You should find the information in the annual reports for 2010/11 to 2020/11, all of which are
published on th
e BBC’s Annual Report website. You will also find links to previous reports at
this link.
Appeal Rights
If you are not satisfied that we have complied with the Act in responding to your request, you
have the right to an internal review by a BBC senior manager or legal adviser. Please contact
us at the address above, explaining what you would like us to review and including your
reference number. A request for an internal review must be made within 40 working days of
receiving the BBC’s response to your original request.
If you are not satisfied with the internal review, you can appeal to the Information
Commissioner. The contact details are: Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House,
Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF, Tel: 0303 123 1113 or see
https://ico.org.uk/.
Yours sincerely,
BBC Information Rights
BBC Legal
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Freedom of Information
From January 2005 the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act 2000 gives a general right of access
to all types of recorded information held by public authorities. The Act also sets out
exemptions from that right and places a number of obligations on public authorities. The term
“public authority” is defined in the Act; it includes all public bodies and government
departments in the UK. The BBC, Channel 4, S4C and MG Alba are the only broadcasting
organisations covered by the Act.
Application to the BBC
The BBC has a long tradition of making information available and accessible. It seeks to be
open and accountable and already provides the public with a great deal of information about
its activities. BBC Audience Services operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week handling
telephone and written comments and queries, and the BBC’s website bbc.co.uk provides an
extensive online information resource.
It is important to bear this in mind when considering the Freedom of Information Act and how
it applies to the BBC. The Act does not apply to the BBC in the way it does to most public
authorities in one significant respect. It recognises the different position of the BBC (as well as
Channel 4 and S4C) by saying that it covers information “held for purposes other than those of
journalism, art or literature”. This means the Act does not apply to information held for the
purposes of creating the BBC’s output (TV, radio, online etc), or information that supports and
is closely associated with these creative activities.
A great deal of information within this category is currently available from the BBC and will
continue to be so. If this is the type of information you are looking for, you can check whether
it is available on the BBC’s website bbc.co.uk or contact BBC Audience Services.
The Act does apply to all of the other information we hold about the management and running
of the BBC.
The BBC's aim is to enrich people's lives with great programmes and services that inform,
educate and entertain. It broadcasts radio and television programmes on analogue and digital
services in the UK. It delivers interactive services across the web, television and mobile devices.
The BBC's online service is one of Europe's most widely visited content sites. Around the world,
international multimedia broadcaster BBC World Service delivers a wide range of language and
regional services on radio, TV, online and via wireless handheld devices, together with BBC
World News, the commercially-funded international news and information television channel.
The BBC's remit as a public service broadcaster is defined in the BBC Charter and Agreement.
It is the responsibility of the Ofcom (the BBC’s independent regulator) to ensure that the
organisation delivers against this remit by setting key objectives, approving strategy and
policy, and monitoring and assessing performance. Ofcom also safeguard the BBC's
independence and ensure the Corporation is accountable to its audiences and to Parliament.
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