The challenge the BBC faces is one that all public service broadcasters face across Europe. Although they cannot compete with the enormous budgets of streaming

The challenge the BBC faces is one that all public service broadcasters face across Europe. Although they cannot compete with the enormous budgets of streaming services, that doesn't mean they can't make programmes the public want to watch and which can be popular. And not every series needs a huge budget to succeed. Co-productions are common throughout the industry and a lot of BBC content ends up on Amazon and Netflix. For those not familiar with the BBC outside the UK, the variety and scope of content they produce is simply massive. Some argue too much. It's not just big-name TV shows though - there are national radio stations covering music and speech, a further 40+ regional radio stations and the BBC World Service. They fund 5 orchestras, produce the biggest classical music festival in the world (BBC Proms), also support UK artists to get exposure with their BBC Music Introducing scheme. Children's TV programmes are free of commercial influence and ad-free. Educational materials cover the entire UK school curriculum and are extensive. (Remember the recent bbc micro:bit project to get kids coding? Only the BBC would have taken the initiative). The entire BBC website is completely ad-free for everyone in the UK (not ad-free outside the UK though). The list goes on... There are lots of things I dislike about the BBC, particularly their domestic news output. I hate the 'dumbing down' of some documentaries. But I think we in the UK would be worse off without the BBC despite all it's faults.