“We wanted to show that the world is sensational, but not in a way that we need to change it,” he said. 

“Made to Make You Think” will also comprise out-of-home advertising starting in New York, and paid media across podcasts, social and digital channels for the next three months. 

All eyes on the U.S.

The U.S. is a “key market of growth” for the organization, which has spent the past three years expanding its presence there, said Ball. 

In the U.K., the BBC is a storied institution that is primarily funded by a license fee, which is paid by British households using the service, and supplemented by income from commercial subsidiaries including BBC Studios. But in the U.S., the BBC is funded entirely by BBC Studios.

When Ball joined the BBC in 2021, she helped set up a dedicated U.S. marketing team. Recently, the organization has also expanded its news coverage in North America. 

Those efforts have included a redesigned website and app; the launch of a 24-hour live news channel on connected TV and FAST (free ad-supported streaming) platforms in the U.S., which more than doubled the BBC News channel in the market; a daily news podcast, The Global Story, targeted at American listeners; seven new newsletters in the past year; and an expanded Washington, D.C. newsroom.