[HCDX] BBC may cut digital and radio services after 2012

[Jaisakthivel <ardicdxclub@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

BBC may cut digital and radio services after 2012

The BBC may cut digital and radio services after the analogue switch-off in 2012, according to the director general, Mark Thompson. The size and scope of the BBC has come under increasing scrutiny at the same time as other media organisations have been hit by declining advertising revenues.

Mr Thompson said that the future of BBC's operations would have to include âreductions in some kinds of programmes and content" and an examination of the scope of its websites. He also suggested a higher proportion of the licence fee would be spent on original British content as opposed to expensive imports.

In a speech to the Voice of the Listener and Viewer conference, Mr Thompson said that the BBC needed to lay out ânew boundariesâ.

He said: âExpect to see reductions in some kinds of programmes and content - a look for example at the current scope of our website - and a close examination of the future of our service portfolios once switchover has been achievedâ.

Earlier this month, Jeremy Hunt, the shadow culture secretary, said the public broadcaster could be dramatically slimmed down under a Tory government.

Mr Hunt expressed scepticism about the value of the niche television channels BBC Three and BBC Four, (costing Â114m and Â71m) as well as digital radio stations such as 1Xtra, 6 Music and Radio 7. Collectively these new ventures cost hundreds of millions of pounds out of a total BBC budget of Â4.6 billion.

On the BBC website, Mr Thompson said it was important to make sure that the "many millions of pages that are up there need to be there". "Is it sufficiently up to date, is it relevant?" he asked.

"It might be a slightly smaller website. It might be stronger, making sure we are playing to our strengths," he added.

Mr Thompson also said he would investigate the possibility of publishing audience "appreciation indexes", or AIs â in which viewers score a programme from 1 to 100 â to demonstrate how much BBC programmes were valued by viewers and listeners.

The review of BBC services is currently being conducted by Thompson and is due to report its findings to the BBC Trust at the beginning of next year.

The corporation was criticised over executive pay after it disclosed that it was paying the 100 most senior staff Â20 million a year.

Mr Thompson defended the salaries saying that many senior staff had taken a âconsiderableâ pay cut by working at the BBC. He revealed he had taken a 58 per cent cut when he moved from the private sector.

According to a poll conducted for BBC Newsnight, seventy per cent of people questioned said the salaries and expenses of BBC senior managers should be made public and 64 per cent said stars earning over a certain amount should face a similar move, and 59 per cent said the pay of all presenters should be made public.

The BBC has refused to reveal stars' pay saying it is commercially sensitive and could trigger an exodus. 

Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/6663816/BBC-may-cut-digital-and-radio-services-after-2012.html
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