BBC chief announces additional £200m cuts Licence fee ‘will need reform’
PLANS for 91% of Channel 4’s annual production budget to be allocated to England is “totally unacceptable,” Scotland’s Culture Secretary has said.
It comes after screen agencies in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales all expressed concern that Ofcom is recommending a new London quota and renewal of a 91% Channel 4 production quota for England.
We previously told how Screen Scotland, Creative Wales and Northern Ireland Screen are pushing for Channel 4’s “out of England” quota to increase to 16%+ and to introduce individual quotas for
BBC director-general Tim Davie has said the BBC will look to make a further £200 million in cuts than has previously been announced – and argued that the licence fee “will need reform”.
Speaking at a Royal Television Society (RTS) event in London to discuss the future direction of the BBC and its role for the UK, Davie said the broadcaster is planning to “proactively research” how it will reform the licence fee post-2028, after the current charter agreement ends in December 2027.
The licence fee has been frozen for two years at £159 but in 2023 the Government announced it would use a lower rate of inflation to increase the household charge from April to £169.50 a year.
The BBC boss also said it is “nearly done” in delivering £500m of annual savings to fund its future plans, and is now working on plans to cut a further £200m so it can “deliver enough each UK nation in line with those accepted by the BBC since 2009.
A number of Scottish TV production companies also labelled the plans “London-centric”.
Writing in the Edinburgh Evening News, Scottish Culture Secretary Angus Robertson said TV production had been “over-concentrated in London and the south-east of England for decades”.
He continued: “Now, however, Ofcom is recommending 91% of Channel 4’s annual production budget should be allocated to England, with the remaining 9% allocated to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland rather than their 16%. This would amount to a 44% short-changing of the sector over the next decade. Frankly, it is an outrage impactful content and ensure investment in digital products”.
As part of these adjustments, he announced BBC Three, the channel which caters to younger audiences, will once again face changes after it was only re-instated in 2022.
Davie said the broadcaster is planning to focus all of its “commissioning, marketing and social media activity” on BBC iPlayer rather than through BBC Three’s linear channel in order to “deliver more value for younger audiences”.
The BBC boss also said he feels the corporation should be seeking to make more partnerships with major “tech players” to help fill its funding gaps, such as its recent pairing with streaming giant Disney+ for its upcoming Doctor Who series.
Davie added: “The commercial arm can expand enormously – the critical thing is protecting the funding for the UK public service and the World Service to do something that is absolutely driven by the values I’ve talked about.”
Davie also said in his speech: and cannot be allowed to go ahead.” He added that he had recently met with Ofcom chief executive Melanie Dawes where he “made the position of the Scottish Government absolutely clear – the plans are totally unacceptable”.
Robertson also pointed out that an open letter has now been signed by more than 30 independent production companies calling on Ofcom to reverse its recommendation.
“Channel 4 has done much in recent years to commission programming from outside the M25 and the UK media regulator Ofcom has played a positive part in that general trend with the BBC,” he added.
“They must think again about their
“There is no doubt that the market has changed hugely since the licence fee was introduced and I think it is right to ask fundamental questions about its longevity in a world that is now full of choice
“We should not create another commercial walled garden or a narrow BBC that provides a niche service for the most hardcore users.
“The very wonder of the BBC is that quality news sits next to genres such as drama and sport, thus ensuring widespread engagement. This is a precious ecosystem.”
He added that the corporation is “not defensive about the future” and believes it “will need reform”.
Davie said that when researching how the broadcaster could reapproach the licence fee it will be “looking flawed plans for Channel 4 which we would be stuck with for the next decade.”
A spokesperson for Channel 4 previously said: “Channel 4 is fully committed to driving growth and investment in the nations and regions and has made demonstrable progress over recent years.
“Whilst we of course look to ensure that our commissioning spend benefits all three devolved nations, no commercial broadcaster, including Channel 4, has nominal or voluntary quota for the individual nations.”
A spokesperson for Ofcom said: “We will carefully consider all responses to our consultation before publishing our final decision this summer.”
at its scope, how it could be more progressive and making sure its enforcement is fair and proportionate”.
Alongside engagement with the Government’s review into the licence fee, he said that starting next year the BBC will open up its “biggest ever consultation process so the public can inform and drive the debate on the future of BBC”.
“Our aim is to make contact and get feedback from hundreds of thousands of people and we do so with an open mind”, he added.
Later answering questions on the future of the licence fee, Davie underlined that he feels it “needs reform” but regards it as “precious”.
The BBC boss noted that those over age 74 who receive Pension Credit are entitled to apply for a free licence and said he is open to considering who else could receive concessions.
He added: “That doesn’t necessarily imply means testing, there could be a number of ways you could make it progressive.
“I just think the idea we’re just sitting where we’re at is the wrong one.”