The BBC will reduce the number of programs it makes and consider turning more television and radio stations into archival services, according to the corporation’s CEO.
Tim Davey is preparing to announce profound cuts to BBC production in the coming weeks, with employees nervously wondering if their programs or channels will be phased out. The corporation estimates it needs to find another £ 285 million in annual savings as a result of government-imposed budget cuts.
Davey said the BBC era, which is trying to do “everything with every service”, is no longer viable because it is eventually spreading “too thin”.
There is speculation on the BBC that entire channels could be removed from the airwaves to achieve financial goals. Davey suggested that while the media likes to talk about the BBC removing channels, the real savings come from simply reducing the cost of channel content.
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Although traditional TV and radio channels may remain on the air, Davey suggested that viewers and listeners expect them to present more reusable content, adding: “What I’m not ready to do is compromise on quality.
He gave the example of the BBC Four, which provides a healthy audience as a traditional television channel, although it is in fact an archival service that has refused to assign new content.
Speaking at the Voice of the Listener and Spectator conference, he said that the real reduction in the license fee imposed by Culture Minister Nadine Doris came at a difficult time for the BBC. The cost of creating programs is rising rapidly due to rising inflation and competition from streaming services.
He said his focus was on maximizing the value that BBC license fee payers receive for their £ 13 a month. “We are not trying to be Netflix, we will be very distinctive and of the highest quality.”
Instead, the focus will be on shifting from the internal focus on broadcast TV stations – where the average viewer is over 60 – to digital. The corporation is desperate to attract younger audiences to its iPlayer service and website in the face of competition from Netflix.
Davey said the overall shift to digital viewing can be seen in the Peaky Blinders’ latest episode, with nearly half of its 8.7 million viewers watching iPlayer. As a result, the challenge for the BBC was far greater than choosing which broadcast channels to stay open, Davey said. “How will you provide social media in the digital age for people who consume mostly on demand?”
Responding to criticism from some BBC employees about the organization’s racial diversity, Davey suggested that “BAME’s very hot talent market” means that the corporation is struggling to retain prominent staff members. Several leading black executives have left the corporation in recent months to work elsewhere, while the BBC is also dealing with allegations of sexual harassment by black women against DJ Tim Westwood while he worked for Radio 1.
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