BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is the national broadcaster of the United Kingdom, based at Broadcasting House in London, England. It is the world's oldest national broadcaster, and the largest broadcaster in the world by number of employees, employing over 21,000 staff in total, of whom approximately 17,900 are in public-sector broadcasting.[1][2][3][4][5]
 Logo used since 2021 | |
| Type | Statutory corporation with a royal charter |
|---|---|
| Industry | Mass media |
| Predecessor | British Broadcasting Company |
| Founded | 18 October 1922 (as British Broadcasting Company) 1 January 1927 (as British Broadcasting Corporation) |
| Founder | HM Government |
| Headquarters | Broadcasting House London, England, UK |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | |
| Products |
|
| Services | |
| Revenue |  £5.330 billion (2022)[1] |
 £124 million (2022)[1] | |
| £206 million (2022)[1] | |
| Total assets | £3.414 billion (2022)[1] |
Number of employees | 21,281 (2022)[1] |
| Divisions | BBC Television BBC Studios BBC Sport BBC Radio BBC News BBC Online BBC Sounds BBC Weather BBC Music BBC English Regions BBC Scotland BBC Cymru Wales BBC Northern Ireland BBC North BBC Bitesize |
| Website | www |
The BBC is established under a royal charter[6] and operates under its agreement with the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport.[7] Its work is funded principally by an annual television licence fee[8] which is charged to all British households, companies, and organisations using any type of equipment to receive or record live television broadcasts or watch using iPlayer.[9] The fee is set by the British Government, agreed by Parliament,[10] and is used to fund the BBC's radio, TV, and online services covering the nations and regions of the UK. Since 1 April 2014, it has also funded the BBC World Service (launched in 1932 as the BBC Empire Service), which broadcasts in 28 languages and provides comprehensive TV, radio, and online services in Arabic and Persian.
Around a quarter of the BBC's revenue comes from its commercial subsidiary BBC Studios (formerly BBC Worldwide), which sells BBC programmes and services internationally and also distributes the BBC's international 24-hour English-language news services BBC World News, and from BBC.com, provided by BBC Global News Ltd. In 2009, the company was awarded the Queen's Award for Enterprise in recognition of its international achievements.[11]
The BBC has played a prominent role in British life and culture.[12][non-primary source needed] It is colloquially known as the Beeb, Auntie, or a combination of both (Auntie Beeb).[13][14]