BBC Commercial increased EBITDA by 17% to £267m ($357.1m) in the 2025/26 financial year, returning £377m ($504.2m) to the BBC as direct-to-consumer services and consumer products, led by Bluey, drove growth despite a challenging market.
Sales were flat at 2.2 billion pounds ($2.94 billion), with growth in some areas offsetting declines in others. Statutory profit after tax rose 9% to £71 million ($95 million). Revenues of £377 million ($504.2 million), down from £391 million ($523 million) in the same period last year, included dividends of £161 million ($215.3 million). This includes an increase of £197 million ($263.5 million) and content investment of £154 million ($206 million), down from £200 million ($267.5 million). The company is on track to meet its five-year target of generating £1.5 billion ($2.01 billion) in revenue for the BBC.
Tom Fassel, CEO of BBC Commercial, said: “2025/26 was a strong year for BBC Commercial.Despite ongoing market pressures, we expanded our margins and delivered significant benefits to the BBC.” “Our diverse portfolio remains well-positioned, with growth in some areas offsetting weakness in others and supporting our overall resilience.”
BBC Studios, the company’s largest subsidiary, achieved sales of £2.13 billion ($2.85 billion) and EBITDA of 17% to £263 million ($351.8 million), supported by a high-margin sales mix and cost savings from a comprehensive new cost review. The content studio posted stable revenues, with EBITDA up 42% to £165m ($220.7m), with growth primarily driven by the ‘Bluey’ partnership and merchandise deals.
The storytelling and production work at BBC Studios has won 91 awards from 361 nominations across scripted and unscripted categories. Death Valley had the highest nightly audience for a new scripted comedy in five years in the UK and was sold in more than 100 markets worldwide.
In the United States, “Dancing with the Stars” drew the largest audience among adults 18 to 34 of any broadcast entertainment series since the final episode of “Friends” in 2004, with the show’s final episode garnering a 53% market share in that demographic. “Bluey” was the most streamed title in the U.S. for the second year in a row, with over 45 billion minutes watched on Disney+, and remains the top preschool toy brand in the U.S. market. Other major titles include “The Americas,” “The Ballad of Wallis Island,” “Crookhaven,” the natural history series “Kingdom,” and “Pre History Planet: Ice Age.” YouTube’s total watch time has nearly doubled to 14.7 billion views per year, outpacing global streamers and UK broadcasters, and social video revenue has increased 23% year over year.
BBC Studios’ Media and Streaming division posted EBITDA of £104m ($139.1m), up 3%, supported by continued direct-to-consumer and commercial news momentum. BritBox’s revenue in North America increased by 20%, while BBC Select’s revenue increased by 61%. In the UK, UKTV achieved record viewing share and grew its U streaming platform, supported by a new multi-year deal with Channel 4. BBC.com expands to 149 million monthly users outside the UK and launches paid subscription tier in the US. The company’s FAST channel portfolio currently spans 30 channel brands and more than 300 feeds worldwide.
BBC Studios has also published its annual pay gap report, disclosing data on deaf and neurodiverse employees for the first time, alongside existing disability numbers. The median gender pay gap fell by 1.4 percentage points to 9.3%, the ethnicity pay gap fell to 5%, and the LGBTQ+ pay gap fell to 7.8%. At the individual career band level, 94% of employees in a given band showed a gender pay gap of less than 3%, or in favor of women, while the ethnic pay gap was less than 1.5% across all career bands.
Fassel said: “While the numbers in today’s report are encouraging, there is still work to be done. We are continuing a series of initiatives to address areas of disparity in representation, including signing up to the ‘We Are Doc’ Women’s Gender Pledge, working with TV Access Projects Spaces & Places Workstream, and working on the TV Foundations Class Confident initiative to help address the under-representation of people from working-class backgrounds in the broader television industry.”
BBC Commercial pointed to the consolidation of industry players, reductions in commissioning from traditional broadcasters and the continued shift from linear TV to on-demand viewing as ongoing pressures, and said a supportive regulatory framework, as highlighted in the BBC’s response to the Government’s Charter Review Green Paper, would be key to further growth.
Upcoming titles include the new season of “Blue Planet,” as well as “Sherwood,” “Deadpoint,” “Break Clause,” “Honey” and “Pride & Prejudice.”
