The BBC's commercial arm, making and selling programmes such as Doctor Who, Top Gear and Blue Planet through labels in London, Bristol, Liverpool and Glasgow.
BBC Studios is the commercial subsidiary of the BBC. It makes, sells and distributes programmes around the world and returns its profits to the BBC to add to licence fee income. It is headquartered at Television Centre in London, and its chief executive is Tom Fussell, according to Wikipedia.
Wikipedia describes the purpose as developing, producing, distributing and selling content internationally, so that the BBC can earn commercial income from programmes made for other broadcasters and platforms. The BBC created it in its current form in 2017, and BBC Worldwide merged into it in 2018.
Its production side, BBC Studios Productions, brings together former in-house BBC departments in factual, drama, comedy, entertainment, and music and events. The Natural History Unit is based in Bristol at Bridgewater House, where it makes around 100 hours of television and 50 hours of radio a year. Series include The Blue Planet, Planet Earth and the Springwatch programmes, and the Unit began in 1957. BBC Studios Fiction has bases in London, Liverpool and Glasgow, and River Pictures launched in Liverpool and London in 2023. Wikipedia also lists BBC Studios Home Entertainment, ScriptWorks and TalentWorks, and says it handles international distribution and advertising sales for BBC News overseas.
Programmes named on Wikipedia include Doctor Who, Top Gear, Luther, A Question of Sport and Holby City. It also runs brands such as BBC Earth and UKTV channels overseas, and it sells shows to broadcasters and streamers worldwide. We did not read a description of company culture, so we cannot comment on it beyond what is public on its own site.
A business like this needs producers, directors, camera and sound teams, editors, researchers, scripted development staff, finance, legal, international sales and marketing people. The Natural History Unit shows how specialist teams can build a reputation over decades, from radio in the 1940s to global TV. The Unit moved from Broadcasting House in Bristol to Bridgewater House in 2022, has been headed by Jonny Keeling since 2021, and works with partners such as Apple TV+, National Geographic and Disney+. If you like storytelling about the natural world, drama or entertainment, BBC Studios' site is a good place to see which teams do what.
Website: www.bbcstudios.com
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