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BBC Charter Review

Pact is actively engaged in the Government's BBC Royal Charter Review and is making the case for changes and protections to ensure the BBC remains strong into the future.

Campaign
Overview

In December 2025, the Government announced the launch of a comprehensive review of the BBC’s Royal Charter. This review will shape the future of public service broadcasting in the UK. For Pact, it is vital that the review protects the BBC’s role as a major commissioner of independent production and supports a sustainable, competitive and diverse UK production sector. 

Pact is actively engaging with Government, Parliament and key stakeholders to ensure the voice of independent producers is heard throughout the review process. In April 2026 we submitted a substantial response to the Culture, Media and Sport Committee Inquiry on the BBC Royal Charter Review, which can be downloaded in full here. Pact CEO, Nigel Warner has since given evidence on behalf of Pact to the Lords’ Communications and Digital Committee and the Culture, Media and Sport Committee.

Key
Issues

Some of the main points that we are making to Government as part of the Review include:

  • We must protect the BBC’s future by ensuring it has sufficient, independent and sustainable funding for the long-term. Pact favours a universal household levy, which would provide a more stable, progressive and platform neutral funding model.

  • We must ensure the BBC continues to be mandated to invest meaningfully in independent production from right across the UK, under PSB Terms of Trade that remain equally effective as viewing habits evolve.

  • The BBC must deliver distinctive high-quality content that reflects diverse voices and perspectives from all parts of the UK. Current quotas and specific nations’ specific quotas should be the bare minimum that the BBC should be achieving. 

  • The 25% independent production quota (or equivalent hours under the Media Act) including specific levels for BBC One and Two must be retained.

  • There must be a clear commitment to efficiency, and that such efficiencies should first be realised within the BBC itself before any further reductions are made to content budgets.

  • The BBC should maintain investment in children’s content, with options including ring-fencing the budget, introducing a dedicated quota, or creating a broader Public Service Media (PSM) quota that includes children’s programming. 

  • Greater transparency in commissioning plans is needed, including potential three year spend forecasts on genres in the BBC’s annual plan. 

We will continue to inform key stakeholders about the issues most pertinent to the independent production sector within the BBC Charter Review process and keep Pact members informed with key updates in due course.