LONDON—The BBC's chairman David Clementi has said the corporation faces a huge challenge with the “smartphone generation."
Speaking at the Voice of the Listener and Viewer spring conference, Clementi said more work has to be done to capture the 16 to 34-year-old audience: “This age group represents our biggest challenge."
“They watch less TV than older people and listen to less radio. They are the smartphone generation and their view of the world is shaped by social media. It is a generation with which we have to work hard to remain relevant.”
[Read: Are Smartphones The Future Of TV News?]
He said of younger viewers: “This is the generation for whom the one thing they can’t afford to lose is their smartphone. Their whole life revolves around it.”
Clementi also warned the Corporation's ability to fund original British content has decreased.
He said that as commercial broadcasters were hit by “dwindling advertising revenues … the volume and breadth of British content that British audiences rely upon is now under real threat."
“It is not limited to drama. It is about home-made content across all genres,” he told the audience, adding that “there are some serious challenges ahead."
