The BBC has published the results of its online survey, which received over 870,000 responses. Of those that responded, 83% said it is important that the BBC continues to inform, educate, and entertain, while 85% said it is important to back the best homegrown storytelling. The responses also show significant gaps between what people believe to be important and their perception of the corporation. The majority of those responding were aged over 55, with only 8% from those aged under 35.
The results show that 91% of respondents believe that it is important for the BBC to be independent of the government of the day, but only 43% consider that to be the case, while 38% think it is not.
Although 78% think the BBC should offer something for everyone, only 59% think it does and 24% do not.
While 71% believe that it is important to reflect people across the United Kingdom, only 51% think it does and 24% think it is ineffective in this.
There is a similar disparity between those that think the BBC provides a valuable public service or offers an asset for the United Kingdom around the world. The BBC says these are gaps that will need to be worked on and addressed as a priority.
That is from responses to the online survey, which is not necessarily nationally representative and is self-selecting for those that took the time to express their views.
Notably, the BBC did not survey those that pay the television licence, for which it has the names and addresses. The survey was addressed to those that had set up an online account with the BBC.
Of the 872,701 responses, 65% were from people aged 55 or over, with less than 8% from those aged under 35, which might point to the core of the problem faced by the corporation.
The survey questions provided limited opportunity to provide free-text comments, but 28% of respondents gave views on programmes and services, 25% on impartiality and bias, and 17% on the television licence and funding.
The BBC says it will work up plans to discuss with the government, which will ultimately take the decision on the overall future focus and funding of the BBC, after consulting with the public. It acknowledged the licence fee needs modernisation and reform, saying it will continue to explore actively all options that can make the funding model fairer, more modern and more sustainable.
The online survey was carried out between 27 March and 18 July 2025. A detailed breakdown of responses by age and region is provided on the BBC web site.