BBC Rethinks Global Buys After Scooby-Doo Outbid Uproar

The newly appointed director general of the BBC plans to reassess the organization’s strategy for acquiring foreign programs, following uproar caused by the network’s aggressive competition with commercial channels for American shows.

Matt Brittin expressed a desire to evaluate if the BBC is maintaining an appropriate equilibrium in its content purchases, hinting that there might be a reduction in the budget allocated for such acquisitions.

This scrutiny arises amid grievances from major networks like ITV, Sky, and Channel 4, who have criticized the BBC for utilizing public funds to secure popular series such as Schitt’s Creek.

Additionally, there was considerable discontent with the BBC’s decision last year to acquire the rights to the Warner Bros. Discovery’s animated series Scooby-Doo through competitive means.

During a session with the UK Parliament’s Culture, Media and Sport Committee, Brittin was questioned about the rationale behind the Scooby-Doo acquisition.

Natasha Irons, a member of Parliament from the Labour Party, inquired about the justification of spending public funds to outbid commercial broadcasters for such content instead of investing more in domestic productions.

Brittin, who has been in his new role for six weeks, clarified that only a small fraction, less than 5%, of the BBC’s content budget is spent on international acquisitions. He argued that these shows help attract viewers to the BBC’s public service offerings, like Newsround, and are part of a strategic approach to meet audience needs.

However, he acknowledged that the overall strategy for acquisitions is under review as part of the organization’s efforts to trim £500M (about $670M) from its budget over the next three years.

ITV has been particularly vocal about this issue in recent times. In a statement submitted to the Culture, Media and Sport Committee, ITV argued that it sees no justification for the BBC to use taxpayer money to compete for content that could otherwise be hosted on free-to-access commercial platforms.

They suggested that the government should impose a new rule in the BBC’s charter to prevent public service broadcasting funds from being used for non-UK content purchases, unless the BBC is the buyer of last resort. They also called for more transparency regarding the titles the BBC acquires.

Sky also contributed to the discussion, suggesting that the BBC’s charter should restrict its iPlayer from becoming a hub for third-party content aggregation.