The BBC is marking 10 years of MediaCityUK by doubling down on its commitment to the North of England.听
With an extra 拢700 million cumulatively to be invested outside London, the Corporation听is planning 1,000 new jobs outside the capital.听
It听has听been a decade since the BBC made the move to Salford, one of the most ambitious projects in the organisation鈥檚 history, and it听has pledged to build upon its success in the region.听
Over the next six years it will increase activity across the North to further cement a commitment to reflect, represent and serve all parts of the country, and deliver great value for all audiences.听
Currently, half the BBC is based outside of London, with departments including Children’s (CBeebies and CBBC), Sport, and Radio 5 Live, as well as local and regional services and the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, relocating to Salford in 2011.听
Bridge House, Dock House and Quay House are now home to some 4,000 BBC staff, and听BBC Breakfast, Match of the Day, Blue Peter听and听Dragons鈥� Den are just some of the programmes which听are produced听at听MediaCityUK.听
Proposals set out in听a plan entitled听鈥楾he BBC Across the UK鈥櫶齡ive听greater听prominence to stories from communities across the North region, as part of the biggest creative and journalistic reshaping of the BBC in its history.听
The BBC base in MediaCityUK will become the main centre for digital and technology teams听–听a听global hub of excellence.听
BBC Radio 3 and BBC Radio 6 Music will be rooted in the North with more than 50% of their broadcast hours coming from Salford. And hit BBC One daytime show Morning Live will broadcast from there all year-round. Radio 1 have announced that Dean听McCullogh鈥檚听new weekend show will be broadcast from Salford from 10 September.听听
An original long-running drama series produced in the North of England will also be launched and broadcast across the country, while the North will get its continuity announcements with BBC One tailored to audiences in the听North West,听North East听and Yorkshire.听听听听听
鈥楾he听Writersroom鈥�, the BBC鈥檚 home for new writing talent, will be expanded with a new Head of New Writing based at BBC North, tasked with discovering and developing new writers.听听
It also committed to dramatically increasing its economic, cultural, and social impact across the UK with an extra 拢700m cumulatively to be invested outside London.听
The plan will mean more than 1,000 extra jobs beyond London – as well as supporting hundreds of new roles in the TV and audio production sector across the nations and regions. Two-thirds of BBC Three spend will be outside London. More than 100 new and returning drama and comedy titles will reflect the lives and communities of audiences outside London.听
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Helen Thomas, Director听of听BBC England, said: 鈥淥ur move to Salford was the catalyst for the development of MediaCityUK, which has provided thousands of jobs and pumped millions of pounds into the regional economy. We鈥檙e extremely proud of what we鈥檝e achieved, and those significant benefits it has brought to the region over the last decade.听
鈥淎nd we鈥檙e hugely excited about our truly ambitious plans for the future. Building on the strengths of our brilliant base in Salford we will develop it into an even bigger and more successful hub for popular TV, digital and radio, business news, and arts and culture.鈥�听
Alongside the BBC plan, independent research has been published that shows the broadcaster鈥檚 positive impact on the creative economy and its increasing contribution across the UK.听
According to the recent report from KPMG, the BBC has played a role in cultivating Salford as a creative and digital cluster. Employment in the sector has seen growth of 142% between 2010 and 2019, and the number of digital or creative businesses has grown by 70%.听
More broadly, it finds every 拢1 of the BBC鈥檚 economic activity generates a total of 拢2.63 in the economy. In 2019/20 the BBC generated an estimated 拢4.9bn in the UK economy 鈥� 拢1.5bn more than if it was performing in line with the industry average. Around half of the BBC鈥檚 total economic contribution was generated outside of London – compared to an average in the sector of 20%听 鈥撎齛n increase from 32% in 2012.听
The report also reveals the BBC is supporting a total of over 53,000 jobs 鈥� with over half outside of London – and for听every one听job directly created by the BBC, a further 1.7 jobs were created in the wider economy.听
Stephen Wild, Managing Director of MediaCityUK, said: 鈥淭he presence of the BBC at MediaCityUK has been a game-changer for the creative, digital and tech sector in the region, kickstarting the ever-growing cluster of creative businesses around it, while unlocking the kind of employment opportunities which historically would have only been found on this scale in London.听听
鈥淭his has meant we can retain talent in the North and secure the growth of this exciting sector for the long term. The BBC鈥檚 commitment to MediaCityUK has without doubt placed Salford and Manchester on the national and international map and we鈥檙e proud to support the BBC with its ongoing expansion plans.鈥�听