The BBC is a public corporation, established in 1922, and is the largest broadcasting organisation in the world. Its mission is to enrich people’s lives with programmes that inform, educate and entertain.
It is a public service broadcaster, funded by the licence fee that is paid by UK households. The BBC uses the income from the licence fee to provide services including eight national TV channels plus regional programming, 10 national radio stations, 40 local radio stations and an extensive website.
The BBC also has a commercial arm, BBC Worldwide. Its profits are returned to the BBC for investment in new programming and services.
The BBC World Service, established in 1932, is an international multimedia service (radio, TV, online and mobile) in English and 27 languages. It reaches a weekly audience of 166 million globally on multiple platforms.
BBC World News, the BBC’s commercially funded international 24-hour news and information channel, is owned and operated by BBC World News Ltd, a member of the BBC’s commercial group of companies.
BBC World News attracts 69 million viewers a week, is available in more than 200 countries and territories worldwide, and reaches nearly 300 million households and 1.8 million hotel rooms.