This article analyses the BBC’s strategy to legitimise its role as public television through closer outreach to citizens and diversification of content in the face of increasing fragmentation of audiences. The study is based on a series of interviews with BBC information service professionals on its concept of audience and its focus on citizens. The purpose of this study is to identify ways of helping Spanish public televisions to address, in the current context, the challenge of their legitimation as public service television. This article analyses the strategies followed by the BBC channel to legitimise its role as public television through an approach to the citizens and a diversification of accounts in order to face the challenge posed by the current fragmentation of audiences. The study is based on interactions with BBC news professionals about their concept of the public and their gaze on citizens. The aim of this paper is to identify ways to help TVE to face the challenge of its legitimising as public service television.