Tim Davie, BBC Director-General, has positioned the organization as pivotal in restoring public trust. In a significant speech in Greater Manchester, he emphasized the UK's need for decisive action to counteract the erosion of societal trust, highlighting the BBC's readiness to play a central role.
Davie called for a national plan for IP switchover. Addressing local leaders, industry experts, and policymakers at Salford's Lowry Theatre, he envisioned the BBC as "An institution that builds social capital and stimulates growth in the online, AI age.” The speech was also live-streamed to BBC staff nationwide.
He acknowledged the UK's positive attributes but warned, “I don’t want to catastrophise; we have so much to be proud of as the UK: our tolerance, our innovative spirit, our creativity, our humour, our sense of fairness but I think that unless we act we will drift. Becoming weaker, less trusting, less competitive,” He added, “The future of our cohesive, democratic society feels, for the first time in my life, at risk.”
Recognizing the BBC's position as both a target and potential savior amidst criticism, Davie aims to make the UK "a global leader in trusted information," believing this will bolster democracy. He presented several ideas under consideration, acknowledging the need for "funding as well as sufficient flexibility for the BBC to innovate".
These include expanding the BBC News presence on platforms like YouTube and TikTok; increasing the global reach of its fact-checking arm, Verify; and developing a new, gold-standard fact-checking tool using AI responsibly alongside trusted journalism. Other proposals involve enhancing the Local Democracy Reporting Service and potentially "open sourcing" local video, news, and audio content for partner media.
Davie also advocated for a national IP switchover plan by the 2030s, proposing a new, accessible streaming device. This contrasts with the Broadcast 2040+ campaign but aligns with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport's recent findings emphasizing the need for government intervention in the transition.