BBC Launches 9 Point manifesto

[Vanhalen 0]

Basically, every 10 years they have to campaign for the right to exist, and the review is coming up soon, and most think it will be abolished

 

The BBC today launched a nine-point manifesto for its future involving sweeping reforms to the board of governors, a pledge to "eliminate derivative and cynical programmes" and a challenge to the government's plans to turn off analogue TV by 2010.

 

Unveiling the BBC's defence of the licence fee and arguments to retain its royal charter for another 10 years, the corporation's newly installed chairman, Michael Grade, made it plain he was determined to ensure the governors can never again be accused of being in thrall to BBC management, as they were during the Andrew Gilligan debacle.

 

But he also made creative standards a central plank of the corporation's manifesto, promising to make quality and innovation the watchwords of everything on the BBC.

 

As part of its determination not to be accused of copycat programming such as Fame Academy, the BBC said it promised to "eliminate derivative and cynical programmes" and to "find the best new talent and defy standard programme categories".

 

The broadcaster said it would continue the revival of drama on radio and television - including the single drama - and pledged to make between six and eight feature films a year.

 

Comedy was singled out as an area where the BBC can continue to be offer something "unique" to audiences with more investment, while BBC4, the critically acclaimed but little-watched digital channel, is to get more resources too.

 

BBC TV library to be put online

 

The BBC says it wants to continue championing digital television, with a promise to offer audiences the opportunity to download any TV programme within seven days of transmission.

 

This online library is an ambitious target for the corporation - it already offers such a service on radio, but offering viewers the rights to catch up with their favourite TV programmes on the internet will be a costly venture because of copyright issues.

 

The director general, Mark Thompson, who joined the BBC last week, said he wanted to provide the public with "a treasure house of digital content", allowing viewers to control their own schedules and access the corporation's content however and whenever they wished.

 

He painted a picture of a future in which viewers were "not passive audiences but active, inspired participants" and said broadband technology was "the key to turning the BBC's rich content into a truly public resource".

 

More programmes would also be made outside London under the plans, with Manchester earmarked as a new centre of excellence, shifting as many as 10,000 staff and up £500m a year in programme commissioning money out of the capital within the next decade.

 

Radical proposals for the board of governors

 

 

The BBC's manifesto - Building Public Value - also includes radical proposals for beefing up the regulatory role of the BBC board of governors, includes putting it in charge of new service licences for all BBC channels and services, setting out programme budgets, remits and performance targets.

 

There will also be a new governance unit independent of senior management.

 

This will apply a new "public value test" which the BBC's wants to incorporate into its system to ensure the programmes and services it offers justify the use of the licence fee.

 

The new test will based on four indicators - reach, quality, impact and value for money.

 

Under the new system the governors must also be satisfied that programmes and services comply with the BBC's five main public purposes of supporting informed citizenship, enriching UK culture and creativity, extending learning opportunities, connecting communities and supporting the UK's role in the world.

 

It is not clear how this would work in practice, and it could render the board of governors even more powerful - with the right to demand series are axed if they do not meet the four performance targets.

 

This could, for instance, affect programmes like Fame Academy or the plethora of makeover and gardening shows that broadcasting luminaries such as Sir David Attenborough have criticised as too dominant in the peak time schedules.

 

Building Public Value also proposes that the governors should take over the DCMS's current responsibility for conducting independent reviews of BBC services and activities - and that they should make more use of independent external advisers.

 

And it includes a proposal for "depoliticising" licence fee negotiations with the government by handing responsibility for this funding decision to an independent body, similar to the Bank of England's monetary policy committee, which sets interest rates.

 

The BBC said it would also consider constitutional options other than its current royal charter - the 10-year agreement with the government that sets out the corporation's remit and purpose - such as mutualisation or trust status.

 

Digital switchoff in 2012

 

 

The BBC also challenged the government's target of turning off analogue TV by 2010, saying it does not believe the switch to digital broadcasting will be achievable until two years later.

 

"The BBC will not be expanding its channels or networks," the corporation said - a statement likely to be well received by the corporation's commercial rivals, who have long railed against what they regard as the public service broadcaster's endless empire building, with the launch of new services and commercial businesses.

 

Mr Grade said the corporation's most urgent priority was "not further expansion, but completing the challenge of creating a fully digital Britain".

 

Mr Thompson added: "An economist might conclude that the BBC has an important role in preventing various kinds of market failure in the new digital world. Our vision is far bolder.

 

"Creating digital Britain is a public challenge the BBC must help to lead. It is a Britain from which the BBC, and only the BBC, can ensure no one is excluded."

[kkktookmybabyaway 0]

Like I care what happens at the BBC.

 

If the BBC gets abolished, what would all their commie reporters do for work?...

[Vyce 0]

Outside of shows like "Spooks", or "Touching Evil", I couldn't give two shits about BBC.