It’s the numbers, stupid! In the government’s 132-page report on the future of the BBC, published on Thursday, there was no shortage of references to distinctiveness and diversity, two of the watchwords of John Whittingdale’s vision for the future of the BBC.
As if to allay fears that the make-up of the new BBC board would effectively turn the corporation into a state broadcaster, independent – or independence – crops up no fewer than 78 times.
Strictly Come Dancing garners two mentions, as you might expect, twice as many as the Great British Bake Off or Wolf Hall (there were presumably lots more until its director Peter Kosminsky stood up to accept his Bafta on Sunday).
There was another for The Archers but nothing for the BBC’s biggest and most enduring hit, watched by more people in the course of a year than any other – EastEnders.
independent/independence 78
television 69
radio 60
licence fee 59
distinctive/distinctiveness 50
online 45
quality 42
partner/partnership 32
value for money 29
diverse/diversity 28
Sky 10
Netflix 4
Strictly Come Dancing 2
Great British Bake Off 1
The Archers 1
EastEnders zero
