The BBC’s investment in Digbeth and the wider West Midlands will create £282 million and hundreds of jobs over the next ten years

A report published today predicts that the BBC’s commitment to the West Midlands will deliver an additional £282 million in gross value added (GVA) to the region over the ten years to 2031. This represents an increase of 44% over what would otherwise have been the case.

The independent research carried out by BOP Consulting in partnership with City-REDI shows that this growth is being driven by the BBC’s decision to invest more in the West Midlands in a creative way. Since the launch of the Across the UK program and the signing of the West Midlands Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in 2021, the BBC has fully delivered on its original commitments to the region.

In recent months, the BBC’s primetime TV shows Silent Witness and MasterChef have entered pre-production from new bases in Digbeth. BBC Radio 1Xtra has moved shows and BBC Asian Network has started consolidating the network entirely in the city in April 2025. Three shows for the new BBC Radio 1 Anthems stream on BBC Sounds will also be made in Birmingham.

With the final episode of daytime drama Doctors airing this week, we have committed to reinvesting all funding into new programming in the region and supporting the retention and development of scripting skills. BBC Studios Drama Productions, which produces titles including Silent Witness, Shakespeare and Hathaway, Father Brown and Sister Boniface, are setting up a regional hub and post-production facility in Digbeth.

These investments are part of the BBC’s commitment to transform its impact in the Midlands, while the decision to move the BBC Midlands headquarters to a new state-of-the-art broadcast center at The Tea Factory in Digbeth reflects the ambition to drive the growth of a accelerate new business. creative cluster in the Midlands, which has brought together a wide range of creative and commercial investors.

Digbeth is rich in industrial and creative heritage and is already home to 500 creative organizations in its unique Victorian warehouses and famous railway arches. Now it is rapidly transforming into a vibrant creative district and center for TV and film production, fueled by BBC activity, together with creative partners.

The BBC’s renewed commitment to the region is estimated to create an additional 910 full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs supported by the broadcaster in the region – a 94% increase on the base case.

As the additional BBC investment strengthens the West Midlands creative cluster, it could boost the creation of a further 224 businesses, supporting a further 7,603 FTE jobs in the region. By 2031, this could lead to an 18% increase in creative sector jobs in the West Midlands, and by 2040, employment opportunities in the creative sector have the potential to double.

The BBC’s increased investment in the region has already helped to grow the creative cluster in the West Midlands. Birmingham is now the second largest UK hub for Banijay Group, with Shine and Kudos Knight setting up regional bases after receiving commissions from the BBC, and with other suppliers such as Spun Gold and Full Fat TV also based in Digbeth. Spun Gold has produced Policing Paradise and is now making series 11 of Garden Rescue for the BBC – all from their base in Digbeth.

The BBC has also announced that Commissioning Executive Mark Harrison will take up a permanent role in the Midlands. Mark will lead the commissioning for events and current affairs, Midlands and the North.

Tim Davie, Director General of the BBC, said: “This report highlights the scale of opportunity for both the BBC and the region in the coming years. We believe in creating world-class content from Digbeth; by placing the people and the place at the epicenter of the creative industry while reflecting their stories. We will continue to work closely with our partners and authorities across the sector to keep pace with our ambition to unlock the full potential of the West Midlands.”

The BBC is actively working with partners across the Midlands, including the West Midlands Combined Authority and Create Central, to grow its investment and further increase economic impact over the coming years. This report outlines a blueprint for growth, which will require further support from public and private investment.

HM3

Notes for editors

BOP Consulting (a global research and consultancy practice for culture and the creative economy), in partnership with City-REDI, carried out the extensive, independent research assessing the BBC’s likely future economic contribution to the West Midlands as a result of renewed investment in the region . The report assesses the impact over the current decade.

BOP worked with a team from City-REDI at the University of Birmingham using their SEIM-UK multi-regional input-output model. The analysis presented in the report is based on the SEIM-UK methodology for calculating gross value added impact, allowing us to consider regional differences in more detail. This is a different methodology than our previous national level assessments. It produces lower gross profit figures for the West Midlands compared to that previous analysis.

City-REDI also built on previous work for the BBC on PWC’s Creative Clusters to econometrically estimate how the additional investment would help boost creative cluster growth, employment and business creation.

BOP spoke to a wide range of participants in the redevelopment of West Midlands and Digbeth. The report calls for renewed cross-sector collaboration in the West Midlands to ensure we can unlock the full creative potential of the West Midlands and ensure opportunities are created locally.

The BBC’s Across the UK strategy is to move shows, talent, teams and content away from London so that the BBC can better reflect, represent and serve all audiences.

The analysis takes into account the BBC’s departure from the Mailbox, with an emphasis on the additional investments that have been made.