BBC Studios reports record annual financial numbers as production sales jump 56%

BBC Studios, the commercial arm of the UK public broadcaster, reported record financial results on Tuesday, including the highest revenue and profit in history, saying it “positions the business well for future growth”.

The company released key strategic and financial data for the 2021/2022 fiscal year, with total revenue or sales reaching £1.63bn ($1.93bn), up 30% from the £1.255bn recorded. in the previous fiscal year. A very healthy year for production and (group of television channels) UKTV.”

The increase was driven by a 56% increase in manufacturing sales. “Content sales were strong at £400m ($473m) thanks to top brands like a doctor who s High speedunwritten views the world s green PlanetAlong with the success of our independent partners, including northern water, it will hurt s illegaltold BBC Studios.

Earnings, measured in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), rose 50% to £226m ($267m) from £151m), marking “the first time the business has surpassed £200m”. , BBC Studios said. said. He added that a cash dividend of £135 million ($160 million) was being returned to the BBC.

“The past year has been stellar for BBC Studios, thanks to continued strong demand from brands like ours. Strictly/dancing with the stars, time, blue s planet series,” said BBC Studios CEO Tom Fussell. “Our creative and financial success is clear to all and I am proud of our teams around the world who have worked so hard to achieve it under extremely challenging conditions. With new investment freedoms and a new business forum, now is the time for companies to get started. Despite the uncertain economic climate, we are very confident in the opportunities ahead – and while this investment in future growth could hurt our short-term earnings, we know we are building a business that can play a bigger role. The Future of the BBC’.

BBC Studios also released its annual pay gap report on Tuesday, “detailing the pay gap by gender, ethnicity, disability and LGBTQ+ employees by career level, as well as a global analysis for the first time.” Most career-level groups show an average pay gap of plus/minus 5%, “while the overall median gender pay gap is now below 10%,” the company said. “In entry-level roles, new schemes to increase diversity affect some measures of the pay gap, but this is important work to improve diversity across the company.”

Fussell said: “We are the most transparent in the media industry in disclosing gender, disability, ethnicity and the LGBTQ+ pay gap at all levels of the company, with new data this year for our global team. While there is much to be proud of as our gender pay gap continues to narrow, these numbers certainly depict the work in progress, particularly where we are investing in the talent of the future. We know there is work to be done to achieve the equality we seek around the world and we will work tirelessly to make it happen. “

UKTV also had a record year, with EBITDA jumping 105 percent as the advertising market once again increased revenue and audience share grew to “record levels”, the company said. Its channels performed very well, with Drama, Gold and Alibi increasing their share by 11%, 7% and 5% respectively in calendar year 2021, while (Comedy Network) Dave increased their share for 16-34 year olds. years old. 14% of the public responded enthusiastically to investing in new original content, while streaming service UKTV Play added 1 million registered users.