The British Council has welcomed a report highlighting the value of the BBC and the UK’s other cultural exports to global perceptions and the UK economy.
Key findings from The Economic Return to the UK of the BBC’s Global Footprint include:
- Cultural factors such as language, creativity and values contribute to the UK’s attractiveness as a source of overseas trade and investment.
- People who consume BBC services more frequently have more favourable perceptions of the UK.
- The more business leaders know and consume the BBC, the more likely they are to trade with the UK.
- More than half the overseas business leaders questioned say that the BBC, the British Council, the 2012 Olympics, the Premier League, the Royal Family and UK pop music make them think more positively about the UK.
John Worne, Director of Strategy at the British Council, said: “It’s great to see the BBC proving its own worth, while underlining the broader value to the UK of cultural factors like English, UK creativity and values. These all contribute to the UK’s attractiveness as a source of overseas trade and investment, as we’ve shown time and again in our own research. As I’ve said before ‘to know the UK is to love the UK’, and this research shows the more you watch the BBC the more you like the UK – exactly the same as for the British Council.
“It’s also great to see in the BBC’s survey of overseas business leaders, that the British Council is right up there among the big cultural drivers of the UK’s reputation - sharing the limelight with the BBC, London 2012, our big partners the Premier League, the Royal Family and UK pop music. On every stage the UK has great cultural assets – we’re delighted to the see both the BBC and British Council rated so highly among them.”