The BBC has published its annual report and annual commissioning report for 2025/26, with £1.5 billion spent on original TV content and £400 million on original Radio content, working with 310 independent TV production companies and 269 radio production companies across the UK, reinforcing its role as the single largest investor in the creative sector, and a potential legal minefield of a top earner following previous high-profile departures.
Over the past year, investment outside London remained a key focus, with 59% of network TV commissioning spend in the Nations and English regions, while almost 70% of network TV hours qualified as regional productions, exceeding the BBC’s quota of 50%. Radio commissioning also continued to grow outside the capital, with 45.8% of network radio commissioning spend in the Nations and English regions.
The BBC also expanded its partnerships in the West Midlands and the North East. In Radio, all but one national network now has a commissioner based outside London, and it remains on track to meet its ambition of having 40% of network TV commissioners based outside London by 2027.
Kate Phillips, BBC chief content officer, said: “This year saw exceptional audience successes, demonstrating the BBC’s continued commitment to homegrown storytelling and reflecting the breadth of the UK. Our distinctive content helped the BBC account for 20% of all identified viewing, with audiences spending more time with the BBC than with any other platform. These results show the vital role the BBC continues to play in the UK’s creative sector.”
The BBC’s top earner this year, bearing in mind that perennial top three Gary Lineker, Huw Edwards and Zoe Ball have departed the corporation in well=publicised circumstances, and A-listers including Claudia Winkleman and Graham Norton are technically freelance and not employed by the BBC, was departed DJ Scott Mills, with a £745,00 pay check. Mills left the BBC in March, when it emerged he had been accused of historical sexual offences. Mills co-operated with a police investigation and was not charged, raising some worrying unfair dismissal possibilities for the broadcaster.
The BBC exceeded its annual £80m creative diversity spend commitment for TV and Radio, investing £196m of existing commissioning budget in content that met its creative diversity criteria. And through its Diversity Development Fund, the BBC invested more than £2 million to support over 100 people in mid- to senior-level production roles across the UK.
Building on this momentum, the BBC will continue to invest in distinctive UK content that reflects our audiences, expand commissioning opportunities across the UK, and build on its digital strategy through new partnerships and services aimed at reaching the next generation of audiences. The BBC also remains committed to doubling our investment on content reflecting Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to more than £100 million by 2027/28.
The BBC’s top earners for 2025/6 looked lke this, and the full report can be viewed on the BBC Commissioning website.:
Image courtesy BBC
