BBC

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

The current logo, used since 20 October 2021.
Company type	Public broadcasting
Industry	Mass media
Predecessor	British Broadcasting Company
Founded	18 October 1922; 102 years ago (1922-10-18)
Founder	John Reith George Villiers
Headquarters	Broadcasting House, London, England , United Kingdom
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Richard Sharp (Chairman of the BBC) Tim Davie (Director-General)
Products	Broadcasting, radio, web portals
Services	Television, radio, online
Revenue	£5.086 billion (2011/12)[1]
Operating income	290,000,000 pound sterling (2021)
Net income	229,000,000 pound sterling (2024)
Total assets	BBC Television
Owner	United Kingdom government
Number of employees	20,916 (2015/16)
Website	bbc.co.uk

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current state with its current name on New Year's Day 1927. The oldest and largest local and global broadcaster by stature and by number of employees, the BBC employs over 21,000 staff in total, of whom approximately 17,900 are in public-sector broadcasting.

The BBC was established under a royal charter, and operates under an agreement with the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport. Its work is funded principally by an annual television licence fee which is charged to all British households, companies, and organisations using any type of equipment to receive or record live television broadcasts or to use the BBC's streaming service, iPlayer. The fee is set by the British Government, agreed by Parliament, 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.

Some 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 in business.

Since its formation in 1922, the BBC has played a prominent role in British life and culture. It is colloquially known as the Beeb or Auntie.

1. ↑ "Part 2 - The BBC Executive's Review and Assessment" (PDF). BBC Annual Report 2011/12. London, United Kingdom: BBC. 16 July 2012. p. 62. Retrieved 24 September 2012.