“I am not in this job to simply defend an institution,” BBC Director General Tim Davie declared this afternoon, as he attempted to get the corporation back on the front foot following a tricky few months.Davie said public service broadcasting sectors in other countries had been hemmed in by their respective governments when compared with the situation in the UK, where “we do things much better, attracting talent from around the world.”He was speaking following a huge week for the BBC, which hosted the King’s Coronation and Eurovision, and following a rocky few months that have seen scandals surrounding Gary Lineker and Richard Sharp. The latter is set to resign in a few weeks time following the Boris Johnson loan scandal.“You have to intervene to protect [what we’ve got in UK PSB],” Davie told the Deloitte & Enders Media and Telecoms 2023 & Beyond Conference. “I don’t want protection from a market failure BBC, that would be failure in itself. I want protection for a contributor to the UK economy, which owns IP.”He urged the government to pass the landmark Media Bill “as soon as possible” and said the sector still faces “significant jeopardy.”“We must intervene to create what we want, not just for the BBC but for society,” he added. “I am not in this job to simply defend an institution but am working to create a free, decent, democratic, caring place to live.”Speaking after Davie, ITV CEO Carolyn McCall backed Davie’s call for speed on the Media Bill’s passing and said “implementation will be everything.”Davie also heaped praised on UK broadcasters, after the BBC, ITV and Channel 4 won 23 of 27 BAFTA TV Awards over the weekend (the other four going to Apple TV+, Netflix and Sky).“As gloriously restrained and cynical we are as a nation, we struggle a bit to deal with success,” he added.“But surely we can swagger a bit about what has been created here. Regulatory interventions have created something not always perfect but precious.”
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