The British Broadcasting Company (BBC) was found in 1922 and has headquarters in Westminster, London. BBC is the world’s oldest and largest, based on the number of employees, broadcaster. BBC was established under a Royal Charter and is owned by the British government (BBC, 2014). The functions of the company are funded through the annual television license fee, earnings from BBC Studios, and various other activities. The company operates online, television, and radio services in the United Kingdom. Its services are sold internationally through BBC Studios and translated into various other languages. The company generated revenue of 4.889 billion Pounds in 2019 with more than 22,400 employees (BBC, 2019). Over the years, the company has gained fame in terms of accuracy and neutrality of the reporting it has carried out.
Following are the four dimensions of the Ansoff Matrix for BBC:
Market Penetration
This strategy involves the sales of existing products in existing markets. The first strategy that BBC uses is the advertisement of its various programs and news shows on its platforms to gain viewership. These include social media and other marketing channels the company makes use of such as billboards, newspaper ads, and so on. It also advertises its services on its various media, such as television services on the radio. Since it is supported by an agreement with the government, it is easily able to dominate the news segment of the television industry. The support through annual television fees provides it with a fixed revenue source. It also motivates its existing viewers to watch various other shows other than news such as documentaries, entertainment shows, and others. BBC also works to bring innovation in its existing shows by creating new segments, inviting renowned individuals, involving viewers, and through other similar tasks. The company also has strategic alliances with various other media companies to promote its products outside of the United Kingdom.
Market Development
BBC develops its markets by promoting its existing products into new markets. BBC products are translated in various languages and then broadcasted through media partners and online channels to the new markets. These are geographic markets. One example can of translating BBC documentaries into Urdu and broadcasting them through the national television, PTV, in Pakistan. The company earns from the broadcasting rights. BBC also promotes its markets by creating shows that target a certain market or geographic region to develop their interest and motivate them to become their regular viewers. BBC services are also offered online through various discounts to new markets to capture market share. BBC also focuses on new segments in its existing markets by promoting its products through media sources that are used by them. For example, the youth is more inclined towards online programs. BBC takes advantage of this by offering various programs online. This helps capture a greater market share.
Product Development
The activity of promoting new products in existing markets is termed as product development. In the media industry, product development is carried out by creating new programs for existing viewers. BBC often creates new documentaries, news shows, entertainment shows, and so on. Another product development strategy pursued by BBC is to create new channels under the BBC umbrella such as BBC World News and BBC Studios that provide different services for the viewers in addition to the existing channels. This helps increase viewership and revenue. This requires extensive research and market understanding before any such activity can be pursued. The new channels and shows are adjusted regularly once feedback from the market is received. Product development is an important source for BBC to increase viewership.
Diversification
Diversification can be executed by BBC in various ways. It can horizontally diversify and start its music channel, animal channel, cooking channel, and so on. This will help increase the type of viewers the company can attract. Numerous individuals are not inclined towards news or documentaries and seek out channels that provide diverse entertainment. BBC can do this as well. The company can also develop a conglomerate strategy by creating its clothesline, gas stations, hotels, resorts, food products, consumer electronics, and much more. The diversity in products and services will help increase revenue and take advantage of the successful brand name. However, this will not be easy as the BBC name has become associated with the news industry over the years.
References
BBC, 2014. Making well informed, fair and transparent decisions. [Online] Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/annualreport/2014/bbc-trust/inside-the-trust/governance.html [Accessed 02 Jan. 2020].
BBC, 2019. BBC Annual Report 2018-19. [Online] Available at: http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/aboutthebbc/reports/annualreport/2018-19.pdf [Accessed 02 Jan. 2020].