I don't see pimping Socialism and trashing America as being "sophisticated." Then again, I'm not a liberal DemocRAT.
I listen to the BBC about 4 nights a week. Yes, I've had to turn the dial when they get crazy about the Palis, but there is no other news source for information on Africa and India. The US news, even FOX, shows so little non-US/European news that I wager most Americans have no idea of what is going on in the rest of the world. I think their in-depth stories with people living in these different areas are great; it's what the Beeb does best.
It's easy to say, 'who cares about what's happening in Africa?' but events outside our borders are important. For the most part, I find the BBC far less in-your-face biased than NPR, which is almost impossible for me to listen to.
I work with a lot of internationals who get news from online newspapers and internet radio from their country. It's surprising what is and isn't covered in this country, that gets covered overseas. I'm not talking about bias, but just about current events for which our news services don't seem to have time.
Aside from news, BBC 7 has some great radio plays; like old time radio in this country. They're a real joy to listen to, if you like that kind of thing.