- Renewed BFBS contract will expand secure access to premium media for Service personnel, including from top-flight football to streaming services.
- New plans for a next-generation digital platform will future-proof media experiences and allow entertainment on-the-go.
- Enhancing our Armed Forces Offer to personnel, boosting morale and fostering community.
Members of the Armed Forces will soon have expanded access to media and entertainment, from top-flight sports like football and rugby to podcasts, gaming, and the latest and Defence news.
The Ministry of Defence has extended their commitment to BFBS (British Forces Broadcasting Service) with a new 10-year contract, expanding and adapting their service to a new media landscape, and ensuring that Service communities remain connected and informed wherever they are in the world at the touch of a button.
Media organisation and military charity BFBS plays a vital role in improving the experience and morale for service personnel and families wherever they are based, sustaining morale, fostering community, and alleviating isolation on deployment.
This agreement is backed by the largest sustained increase in defence spending since the end of the Cold War, hitting 2.6% of GDP from April 2027. BFBS will develop new ways to connect with our service personnel, adapting their offer and technology, ensuring secure access in the most remote environments and investing in new entertainment platforms including gaming, catering to the tastes of all our personnel.
Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry, Luke Pollard MP, said
BFBS are at the heart of service life, providing our personnel with access to secure, trusted entertainment, ranging from live football matches to the latest movie releases, and keeping our people engaged in Forces life from gaming to developing news.
This 10-year contract renewal demonstrates our long-term commitment to our people – and will ensure they have media access relevant to their needs, devices and interests, wherever they serve. Our message to our Armed Forces community is clear this government is on your side.
The contract builds on more than eight decades of BFBS’s dedication to connecting and entertaining the UK Armed Forces, bringing continued value for money. As a registered charity, BFBS is uniquely positioned to secure content partnerships that would not typically be achievable through commercial procurement. For example, their premium overseas television lineup — including movies, series and major live sport bring our personnel a huge morale boost and a vital connection to home life.
Ben Chapman, BFBS CEO said
We are very excited to announce this new contract with the MOD, and to fulfil our mission of uniting the UK Armed Forces and their families with trusted, creative media experiences for the next decade.
We are living in complex geopolitical times, with Defence at the top of the global agenda, and never has the media landscape been more disrupted. BFBS plays a vital role in supporting the operational readiness and welfare of our military wherever they are serving, and we help to maintain a healthy democracy by ensuring that all those who serve our country have access to trusted, relevant, and secure media.”
The commitment to extend this service is part of Government’s wider efforts to strengthen the Offer for our Armed Forces personnel, including landmark action to buy back and renew nearly 40,000 military family homes, a new childcare scheme saving eligible forces families in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland up to £6,000 per year per child by reimbursing early years childcare costs, and the establishment of a new, independently-appointed Armed Forces Commissioner with the power to investigate issues raised directly by personnel and their families.
About BFBS (British Forces Broadcasting Service)
- BFBS is a military charity and media organisation that entertains, informs, connects, and champions the UK Armed Forces.
- They help to keep people in touch, building morale among the Forces wherever they serve, offering them a way to share experiences with other personnel, as well as a valuable connection to life back home.
- BFBS bring trusted and secure entertainment, news, sport, and information services to the military, their families, and veterans worldwide. With their first broadcast in 1943, BFBS have been providing our service personnel with access to some of their favourite television shows and movies for over 80 years, helping them stay connected with home and keeping them up to date on the latest news, entertainment and sport fixtures.
- They currently provide up to 16 core channels on the BFBS TV set top box with 30+ channels live and on demand on the BFBS TV Player for those based overseas.
- See bfbs.com for the latest global Defence news and stories.