The text of the speech given by BBC Director-General Mark Thompson at the Royal Television Society on Wednesday 14 March, 2012.

(NOT checked against delivery)

Full text may be found here.


"I’m going to try this evening to offer a view of the future of the BBC – and of the whole of broadcasting – through the prism of a single year… This year, 2012. Because this is the year when so many of our ambitions, so many of the issues we’ve wrestled with, finally come together...........


............There probably isn’t an organisation on the planet whose demise has been so often and so enthusiastically predicted. But despite all the threats, despite all its shortcomings, the BBC remains the world’s best and most creative broadcaster. And if you ask me, it’s set to stay that way. Thank you."