Tim Davie: Last News

Supporting their mother. Prince William and Prince Harry were just children when the late Princess Diana gave her famous interview to Panorama, but they haven’t been shy about sharing their thoughts on the controversial conversation as adults.

The BBC is to close linear channels in the near future as it “consolidates activity under one simple, single brand,” Director General Tim Davie has revealed, as he unveiled a blueprint for a digitally-led Public Service Broadcaster.

New UK Culture Secretary Michelle Donelan has indicated she will take up the mantle of firebrand predecessor Nadine Dorries by insisting it is “impossible” to sustain the BBC license fee after 2027, while distancing herself from the former I’m a Celebrity… contestant’s views on impartiality.

The BBC has appointed an independent safeguarding expert to assist its investigation into what was known about DJ Tim Westwood’s conduct while he worked at the broadcaster, with a call for evidence period now extended to allow more people to come forwards.

K.J. Yossman As the BBC celebrates its one hundredth anniversary today (Oct. 18), the broadcaster’s top executives have paid tribute. “The BBC is one hundred today – it’s a time to celebrate, but also to embrace the future,” said BBC chairman Richard Sharp. “I believe its best days are ahead. We have always innovated, changed and adapted. Our path has always been guided by the needs of audiences. We are just as mindful of that today as we have always been. By continuing to put the public first, we will continue to inform, educate and entertain for another century.” BBC director-general Tim Davie added: “With the BBC reaching the milestone of 100 years, our mission to inform, educate, and entertain, has never been more relevant or needed. For a century, the BBC has been a beacon of trusted news and programming across the world, as well as being part of the fabric of the U.K. and one of its key institutions. It has been a story of a devotion to public service and constant reinvention – which those in the BBC today remain utterly committed to. We exist to serve the public – doing that will guide the next 100 years.”

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Tim Davie, BBC director-general, underscored the importance of creative risk-taking to the British broadcaster, when interviewed onstage at TV market Mipcom on Monday, which coincided with the BBC’s 100th anniversary. Davie’s appearance onstage followed a presentation by Tom Fussell, CEO of BBC Studios, the broadcaster’s commercial arm. He announced that BBC Studios is set to wholly acquire Sid Gentle Films, the production company behind hits such as “Killing Eve.” He showed a clip from the company’s new show “Rain Dogs,” starring Daisy May Cooper. Cash Carraway is writer and executive producer. Fussell also announced that BBC Studios’ managing director of scripted, Mark Linsey, is set to relocate to Los Angeles in order to help build its co-production, investment and commissioning opportunities internationally.

BBC DG Tim Davie and Studios CEO Tom Fussell have said the BBC is now a “fully global operation,” as they shared a stage for the first time at Mipcom Cannes.

Cara Delevingne is to appear at Mipcom Cannes discussing her upcoming BBC Three and Hulu show Planet Sex with Cara Delevingne.

The 2023 Eurovision Song Contest will be staged in the English city of Liverpool, the BBC said Friday, after Britain was asked to hold the event on behalf of designated host country Ukraine.

EXCLUSIVE: BBC Studios has named formats veteran Nicholas Oakley as SVP, Unscripted Development in LA, as the outfit seeks the next generation of hits.

EXCLUSIVE: Some BBC World Service teams are to be asked to relocate away from the UK as they prepare for impending cuts, Deadline understands.

Either Liverpool or Glasgow is set to host the Eurovision Song Contest on behalf of Ukraine next year, it has been announced. Ukraine, who had this year's winning act Kalush Orchestra, have been left unable to host next year due to the country's ongoing war with Russia.

K.J. Yossman BBC director general Tim Davie robustly defended the corporation’s license fee model at the Royal Television Society (RTS) convention on Tuesday afternoon, saying “I think the license fee is there to beat.” The license fee is a mandatory fee every household that watches live television on any service or network must pay annually. It is currently £159 ($171) per year. “There are loads of funding solutions you could get,” Davie said after being grilled by BBC journalist Amol Rajan. “My view is if I can’t, as editor-in-chief, act independently and impartially, then the BBC is over. Final thing is, I think you cannot separate funding model from editorial, intent and delivery.”

BBC Director General Tim Davie has discussed how “enormous decisions” had to be made following the death of Queen Elizabeth II as he chaired a working group featuring senior broadcasting bosses. He also rejected the notion outright that there is a “major short term crisis” in terms of the number of people watching the BBC.

The board of Britain’s main public service broadcaster, the BBC, has called Queen Elizabeth II “a unifying figures across generations, communities and borders,” as bosses paid tribute to the monarch, who died today aged 96.

K.J. Yossman The U.K.’s cross-party DCMS Committee, which scrutinizes the spending, policies and administration of the government Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, is set to interrogate BBC bosses on impartiality, the license fee and earnings. The committee, which is chaired by Julian Knight, is set to convene on Tuesday, Sept. 6 to question BBC director general Tim Davie, BBC chair Richard Sharp and BBC COO Leigh Tavaziva. They will ask questions on topics including how the corporation “plans to remain relevant and effective in the modern media landscape,” “how the BBC’s offering is impacted by a more polarised political atmosphere” and the future of the license fee in light of soaring inflation rates.

The BBC has donated a whopping £1.42million multiple charities linked to Princess Diana after the company apologised over their infamous Panorama interview.

Beloved British broadcaster Bill Turnbull, who presented BBC Breakfast for 15 years, has died aged 66.

Banijay CEO Marco Bassetti is to deliver a keynote at Mipcom.

K.J. Yossman BBC journalists are considering whether to strike over the merger of two of the network’s news channel teams, which will see up to 70 jobs axed.Earlier this year BBC director general Tim Davie revealed that the U.K.-focused BBC News and global BBC World News channels would be replaced by one new channel called BBC News as part of a move to deliver hundreds of million dollars’ worth of cutbacks at the corporation. The decision, which Davie described as one of a number of “difficult choices” management were having to make, came after the U.K.

BBC News journalists are considering striking over the merger of the domestic and international news channels that will see 70 jobs axed.