--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The BBC must never be all about ratings…" description: "\"The BBC must never be all about ratings - or even mainly about ratings. In the past year, we have made a raft of terrific programmes which stand compar..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a61/gavyn-davies-34333_beast_the-bbc-must-never-be-all-about-ratings_1548055.png" --- # The BBC must never be all about ratings - or even mainly… ![“The BBC must never be all about ratings - or even mainly about ratings. In the past year, we have made a raft of terrific programmes which stand comparison with the best the BBC has ever done: 'Blue Planet,' 'Walking with Beasts,' 'Son of God,' 'Clocking Off,' 'The Way We Live Now,' 'Conspiracy,'…” quote by Gavyn Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a61/gavyn-davies-34333_beast_the-bbc-must-never-be-all-about-ratings_1548055.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a61/gavyn-davies-34333_beast_the-bbc-must-never-be-all-about-ratings_1548055.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a61/gavyn-davies-34333_beast_the-bbc-must-never-be-all-about-ratings_1548055.png) > “The BBC must never be all about ratings - or even mainly about ratings. In the past year, we have made a raft of terrific programmes which stand comparison with the best the BBC has ever done: 'Blue Planet,' 'Walking with Beasts,' 'Son of God,' 'Clocking Off,' 'The Way We Live Now,' 'Conspiracy,' 'Lost World.” [Gavyn Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gavyn-davies/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He argues the BBC should prioritize quality programming over ratings, highlighting recent acclaimed shows. **In simple terms:** BBC should value quality over ratings. Key Takeaway Focus on creating great content. Themes media responsibility quality vs ratings public service creative excellence Mood reflective critical optimistic Type statement opinion When to use this quote - program development - strategic planning - funding decisions - editorial guidelines Key Concepts public broadcasting cultural impact audience trust Questions to Reflect On - How can the BBC balance quality with audience numbers? - What metrics should replace ratings? A Different Perspective Ratings still drive funding and audience expectations. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bbc Blue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bbc-blue-5779628/) [Bbc Ratings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bbc-ratings-5779627/) [Beast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beast/) [Best Bbc](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/best-bbc-5779626/) [Blue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blue/) [Blue planet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blue-planet/) [Comparison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comparison/) [Conspiracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conspiracy/) [Done](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/done/) [Live Now](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/live-now/) [Lost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lost/) [Lost World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lost-world/) [Made](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/made/) [Mainly Ratings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mainly-ratings-5779630/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Planets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/planets/) [Programmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/programmes/) [Rating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rating/) [Son](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/son/) [Son of god](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/son-of-god/) [Television](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/television/) [Terrific](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terrific/) [Terrific Programmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terrific-programmes-5779629/) [Walking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/walking/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) [Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years/) ## Related quotes > [With respect to the ocean being the heart of our blue planet: We are often asked, 'How much protection is enough?' We can only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-earle/with-respect-to-the-ocean-being-the-heart-of-our-blue-planet-we-are/) [Sylvia Earle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-earle/) > [“The principal energy sources of our present industrial civilization are the so-called fossil fuels. We burn wood and oil, coal and natural gas, and,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/the-principal-energy-sources-of-our-present-industrial-civilization/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [Our posturings, our imagined self-importance , the delusion that we have some privileged position in the universe are challenged by this point of pale light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/our-posturings-our-imagined-self-importance-the-delusion-that-we-have-2/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [“I saw Sonora before me, so otherworldly, so desolate, some cast-out mistress on the pale blue planet, and longed suddenly to stay.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-lillith-assadi/i-saw-sonora-before-me-so-otherworldly-so-desolate-some-cast-out/) [Hannah Lillith Assadi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-lillith-assadi/) > [Fragile creatures of a small blue planet, surrounded by light years of silent space.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/fragile-creatures-of-a-small-blue-planet-surrounded-by-light-years-of/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [“We are each of us like our little blue planet, hung in black space, upheld by nothing but our mutual reassurances, our loving lies.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/we-are-each-of-us-like-our-little-blue-planet-hung-in-black-space/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [We B Rollin Ya'll Somewhere in the infinite vastness of the universe, there is a small rotating Galaxy called the Milky-way. Its moving through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-mathews/we-b-rollin-ya-ll-somewhere-in-the-infinite-vastness-of-the-universe/) [Jay Mathews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-mathews/) > [When seen from outer space, our beautiful blue planet has no national boundaries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/when-seen-from-outer-space-our-beautiful-blue-planet-has-no-national/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [I couldn't watch 'BP' for a long time, until I started doing this job, because I knew in my heart that 'Blue Planet,' as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-lewis/i-couldn-t-watch-bp-for-a-long-time-until-i-started-doing-this-job/) [Clive Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-lewis/) > [We can all be heroes, joining together in a grand mission to save those living on this little blue planet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-inslee/we-can-all-be-heroes-joining-together-in-a-grand-mission-to-save/) [Jay Inslee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-inslee/) > [Whenever I gaze up at the moon, I feel like I'm on a time machine. I am back to that precious pinpoint of time,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buzz-aldrin/whenever-i-gaze-up-at-the-moon-i-feel-like-i-m-on-a-time-machine-i-am/) [Buzz Aldrin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buzz-aldrin/) > [“This blue planet contains oceans, lands, forests, deserts, rivers, ice, rich and poor people, different beliefs and religions, birth and death, satisfaction and hunger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohamad-shaban-alayoubi/this-blue-planet-contains-oceans-lands-forests-deserts-rivers-ice/) [Mohamad Shaban Alayoubi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohamad-shaban-alayoubi/) > [“You'll get over it...' It's the cliches that cause the trouble. To lose someone you love is to alter your life for ever. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/you-ll-get-over-it-it-s-the-cliches-that-cause-the-trouble-to-lose/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [“It was floating. Waiting. It had no sense of how long It had been in this state. Its awareness had retreated into a tiny…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-valor/it-was-floating-waiting-it-had-no-sense-of-how-long-it-had-been-in/) [J. Valor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-valor/) > [Thanks to David Attenborough and 'Blue Planet 2,' we've become aware of the damage to our oceans from plastic pollution. We now know to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-gardiner/thanks-to-david-attenborough-and-blue-planet-2-we-ve-become-aware-of/) [Barry Gardiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-gardiner/) ## More by Gavyn Davies > [I want the BBC to be a mass market public service broadcaster still funded by the licence fee... and the licence fee is more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gavyn-davies/i-want-the-bbc-to-be-a-mass-market-public-service-broadcaster-still/) [Gavyn Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gavyn-davies/) > [It was an interesting question as to whether the BBC had a future in the digital world, and what form of market failure could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gavyn-davies/it-was-an-interesting-question-as-to-whether-the-bbc-had-a-future-in/) [Gavyn Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gavyn-davies/) > [The BBC is part of the glue which binds the United Kingdom together. At those times of national moment - of joy or sadness,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gavyn-davies/the-bbc-is-part-of-the-glue-which-binds-the-united-kingdom-together/) [Gavyn Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gavyn-davies/) > [There is an honourable tradition in British public life that those charged with authority at the top of an organisation should accept responsibility for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gavyn-davies/there-is-an-honourable-tradition-in-british-public-life-that-those/) [Gavyn Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gavyn-davies/) > [Normally I would not recommend a book that tells you how to make money in the stock market. Most of these books are aimed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gavyn-davies/normally-i-would-not-recommend-a-book-that-tells-you-how-to-make/) [Gavyn Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gavyn-davies/) > [The BBC provides the commentary on our lives, the soundtrack of the nation. It is one of the most powerful unifying forces in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gavyn-davies/the-bbc-provides-the-commentary-on-our-lives-the-soundtrack-of-the/) [Gavyn Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gavyn-davies/) > [Other than marriage, she doesn't control me and I don't control her.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gavyn-davies/other-than-marriage-she-doesn-t-control-me-and-i-don-t-control-her/) [Gavyn Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gavyn-davies/) > [The BBC should not have a cheerleader. It should have somebody who runs the organisation in the interests of the public and that should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gavyn-davies/the-bbc-should-not-have-a-cheerleader-it-should-have-somebody-who/) [Gavyn Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gavyn-davies/) > [Over the last decade, economists seemed to share a broad consensus about economic policy, with the old splits between monetarists and Keynesians apparently being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gavyn-davies/over-the-last-decade-economists-seemed-to-share-a-broad-consensus/) [Gavyn Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gavyn-davies/) > [Inflation is not always the main problem, or indeed a problem at all. Sometimes, though rarely, deflation is a more serious threat, and we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gavyn-davies/inflation-is-not-always-the-main-problem-or-indeed-a-problem-at-all/) [Gavyn Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gavyn-davies/) > [Without the BBC, the proliferation of television and radio channels by the private sector would simply result in more and more channels, with tiny…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gavyn-davies/without-the-bbc-the-proliferation-of-television-and-radio-channels-by/) [Gavyn Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gavyn-davies/) > [As long as the appointment process is transparent and there is a broad mix of political views among the governors of the BBC, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gavyn-davies/as-long-as-the-appointment-process-is-transparent-and-there-is-a/) [Gavyn Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gavyn-davies/) > [Almost everyone will find something in our services worth paying for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gavyn-davies/almost-everyone-will-find-something-in-our-services-worth-paying-for/) [Gavyn Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gavyn-davies/) [Explore all 14 Gavyn Davies quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gavyn-davies/) ## More Beast quotes > [We became Homo sapiens not that long ago, from the scientific perspective, and we've retained a lot of our beast nature. We've done all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wangechi-mutu/we-became-homo-sapiens-not-that-long-ago-from-the-scientific/) [Wangechi Mutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wangechi-mutu/) > [“Once upon a time, there was a naïve and innocent girl who thought she could tame the beast and live happily ever after. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nenia-campbell/once-upon-a-time-there-was-a-na-ve-and-innocent-girl-who-thought-she/) [Nenia Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nenia-campbell/) > [Is man no more than this? Consider him well. Thou ow'st the worm no silk, the beast no hide, the sheep no wool, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/is-man-no-more-than-this-consider-him-well-thou-ow-st-the-worm-no/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [In giving us dominion over the animal kingdom God has signified His will that we subdue the beast within ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lancaster-spalding/in-giving-us-dominion-over-the-animal-kingdom-god-has-signified-his/) [John Lancaster Spalding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lancaster-spalding/) > [ No visiting angel, or explorer from another planet, could have guessed that this bland orb \[Earth\] teemed with vermin, with world-mastering, self-torturing, incipiently angelic… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olaf-stapledon/no-visiting-angel-or-explorer-from-another-planet-could-have-guessed/) [Olaf Stapledon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olaf-stapledon/) > [As a beast of toil an ox is fixed capital. If he is eaten, he no longer functions as an instrument of labour, nor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/as-a-beast-of-toil-an-ox-is-fixed-capital-if-he-is-eaten-he-no-longer/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) > [« He squeezed his hands into fists. I picked up a grapefruit-sized rock and handed it to him. It went flying. Home run, Beast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilona-andrews/he-squeezed-his-hands-into-fists-i-picked-up-a-grapefruit-sized-rock/) [Ilona Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilona-andrews/) > [Was man made stupid to see his own stupidity? Is God by definition indifferent, beyond us all? Is the eternal truth man's fighting soul…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-eberhart/was-man-made-stupid-to-see-his-own-stupidity-is-god-by-definition/) [Richard Eberhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-eberhart/) > [When a man is treated like a beast, he says, 'After all, I'm human.' When he behaves like a beast, he says 'After all,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/when-a-man-is-treated-like-a-beast-he-says-after-all-i-m-human-when/) [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) > [The American people are incredibly generous and even playful when you open yourself up and feed the media beast until it goes away satisfied.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krystal-ball/the-american-people-are-incredibly-generous-and-even-playful-when-you/) [Krystal Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krystal-ball/) > [Wherever I am, I see the yoke on women in some form or another. On some it sits easy for they are but beasts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abby-may-alcott/wherever-i-am-i-see-the-yoke-on-women-in-some-form-or-another-on-some/) [Abby May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abby-may-alcott/) > [“He's a beast. A monster. And he looks like he wants to devour me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-m-darhower/he-s-a-beast-a-monster-and-he-looks-like-he-wants-to-devour-me/) [J.M. Darhower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-m-darhower/) > [ Antichrist is the pope and the Turk \[Muslim\] together. A beast full of life must have a body and soul. The spirit or soul… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/antichrist-is-the-pope-and-the-turk-muslim-together-a-beast-full-of/) [Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/) > [My hero among heroes is my grandmother, she's the epitome of strength and I try to mock that strength all the time. She's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeriel-miranda/my-hero-among-heroes-is-my-grandmother-she-s-the-epitome-of-strength/) [Aeriel Miranda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeriel-miranda/) > [You've heard tales of beauty and the beast. How a fair maid falls in love with a monster and sees the beauty of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-maitland/you-ve-heard-tales-of-beauty-and-the-beast-how-a-fair-maid-falls-in/) [Karen Maitland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-maitland/) [Browse all 1,640 Beast quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beast/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The BBC must never be all about ratings - or even mainly about ratings. 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