The report says the BBC is being held back by regulatory and funding uncertainties , making it less competitive in a rapidly changing global marketplace .

As a result of licence fee changes and inflation , the BBC now estimates it will have a nearly £ 400m (€ 452m ) a year funding gap by 2027-28 . The PAC is not convinced that the BBC currently knows the detail of the

resources needed to achieve its digital plans or whether the £ 500 million it intends to invest annually by 2025 will be sufficient to also allow it to plan for an Internet only future . It will need to move more quickly on this and in parallel develop its data security policies to ensure they are fit for purpose as the BBC collects more user data .

The report says the BBC is being held back by regulatory and funding uncertainties , making it less competitive in a rapidly changing global marketplace .

“ The BBC has a careful and difficult balance to strike here - it has committed to an Internet only future by the 2030s but knows it is essential that there are ways for people , especially children and others who cannot or do not easily access the Internet , to access its services . Licence fee payers must be able to keep our options open ,” commented Dame Meg Hillier MP , chair of the Committee . “ The BBC is being held back in a yesteryear of TV and radio by uncertainty

over funding and regulation , and by the DCMS Department ’ s constant delays and down-scaling of national fast broadband rollout plans . The BBC fulfils an essential public service function - it must have the planning , resources and wider infrastructure support to do so .”

According to the PAC , the BBC has not yet started planning for a future where radio and television are only accessed through the Internet , including how it will work with government and other stakeholders . In December 2022 , the BBC ’ s Director-General set out where the BBC would need to be by the 2030s and announced it would move to an internet-only future with greater urgency . Although , it appears to have rowed back from some of the details of its announcement , or at least from what was reported , the BBC is bullish about moving to a fully digital future .

Accordingly , the PAC says the BBC should develop a detailed plan including scenarios for how it could switch to an internet-only future , working with government , audience representatives and wider stakeholders , to

ensure no-one is left behind .

In addition , the PAC finds that the BBC ’ s approach to how it will develop personalised services for audiences is not yet well developed , but recognises that its public service obligations should be at the heart of its personalisation strategy . The BBC has spoken about personalisation ambitions over the past nine years and worked to personalise individual products such as the iPlayer . But there is as yet no comprehensive personalisation strategy in place to show what this would look like in practice .

The Committee recommends that the BBC should move more quickly on the development of a personalisation strategy that serves its public sector purposes while fulfilling its ambitions for a more tailored experience for its audiences . It should write to the Committee on its progress by December 2023 .