The BBC does not exist in a market on its own where it can set the market rates. If we are to give the public what they want, then we have to pay for those great presenters and stars.
london — Britain’s public broadcaster BBC came under fire on Wednesday for its gender pay imbalance after it was forced to reveal how much it pays its top-earning talent.
For the first time in its 94-year existence, the BBC was this year forced to release a list of its employees paid more than £150,000 ($195,000) between 2016/2017, after a change in its charter last year.
More than 200 names feature on the list — which includes executives, actors, presenters, writers and technicians — but only one third are women.
Former Top Gear host Chris Evans was revealed to be the highestpaid person, earning over £2.2 million, while presenter Claudia Winkleman was named as the top female earner, pocketing more than £450,000. Winkleman hosts Strictly Come Dancing, Britain’s version of Dancing With The Stars”.
In a statement, the BBC’s Director-General Lord Hall defended the organisation as “more diverse than the broadcasting industry and the civil service” but admitted that “there is more to do”.
“We’ve set a clear target for 2020: we want all our lead and presenting roles to be equally divided between men and women,” he added.
Culture Secretary Karen Bradley told parliament that releasing the list would ensure the organisation “produces value for money” for licence fee payers and that more transparency could lead to savings. Britain’s licence fee, which pays for the BBC, stands at £147 per year.
But Hall defended the organisation’s high salaries, telling BBC radio earlier in the day that it operates in a “very competitive market”. He argued that the BBC had reduced talent salaries by 25 per cent in the past four years and said publishing the list was a “bad idea” because it could tempt other companies to poach talent.
Questioned over his pay, former footballer turned presenter Gary Lineker revealed that he had turned down higher salary offers from a privately owned broadcaster “because I love and value my job and BBC Sport”. —