Outgoing director-general Tim Davie has said the charter renewal fixed end date leaves the BBC vulnerable to “being treated as a political football”.
The charter, which is renewed every 10 years and expires in December 2027, sets out the BBC’s public purpose and is the constitutional basis for the corporation.
Mr Davie’s comments come ahead of the corporation’s response to the Government’s consultation on its future, which will be published on Thursday.
Writing for the Times, Mr Davie laid out three changes he hopes to see, including an end to the charter’s fixed end date.
He said: “Only the BBC has a charter that expires every decade, leaving it open to being treated as a political football.
“We are not perfect and must be held to account, but the BBC’s future should never become a political battleground.”
The BBC is funded predominantly through the licence fee paid by TV-watching households in the UK, and Mr Davie also made the case for an updated funding model that is “fit for the future”.
He also called for new growth-focused regulatory framework that will allow the broadcaster to “move at the pace of today’s media world”.
Mr Davie continued: “The BBC is ready to keep innovating to do more: to tackle disinformation, support local news and strengthen grassroots democracy; to safeguard British storytelling and grow our creative sector; to carry Britain’s voice and influence to the world. But it won’t be possible without a charter that delivers radical reform.
“A charter that maintains the status quo will not be enough; it would abandon the BBC to managed decline.”
Mr Davie resigned as director-general in November and will leave his post in April following allegations that the BBC selectively edited a speech by Donald Trump on the day of the US Capitol attack for a Panorama documentary.
Rhodri Talfan Davies has been confirmed as the corporation’s interim director-general and will take on the role from April 3.
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