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Delivering Quality First

2011-10-06T07:33:13+00:00

At the start of the year, I kicked off the BBC's Delivering Quality First consultation process by laying out the challenge the BBC faces between now and January 2017: how to meet the savings target we were set in the licence fee settlement while still delivering the quality and creativity which our audiences rightly expect of us.

The settlement calls for 16% savings by the end of the Charter, but back in January I said that - in addition to hitting that target - I believed we should identify another 4% of current spend which we could release and invest in new quality content as well as in the new digital developments that will keep the BBC strong and relevant in the future.

But in looking for the total of 20% savings we were mindful that we needed to recognise the impact of previous efficiency rounds and beware of damaging quality. In order to do this we would have to look at both scope changes (changes to the programmes and services we produce) and productivity changes (using technology or new ways of working to produce the same output to the same or higher quality for less money).

Today we've released the conclusions of Delivering Quality First, and you can read the proposal and further background information on the About the BBC website.

Delivering Quality First is a plan for a smaller and radically reshaped BBC, lean enough to live within its means yet still able to command the talent, technology and resources it needs to deliver world-class services to everyone. The process will not be easy, it will involve significant job losses and we should not underestimate the challenge ahead.

The BBC Trust will be consulting the public about our plans, and we are more determined than ever to bring the best to everyone. I encourage you to voice your opinion about these findings on the BBC Trust's website.

Mark Thompson is Director General of the BBC

Delivering Quality First: Further background and the proposals that outline the way the BBC will work by the end of the Charter in 2017
BBC Trust Public Consultation: Share your views on the proposals

First Click Friends - getting everybody online

2011-05-11T14:49:44+00:00

Earlier today I gave a speech at the National Digital Conference to an audience of around one thousand 'digital champions'. It's been an inspiring day to celebrate the launch of a network of 'digital champions' - anyone encouraging family and friends to use the internet. I announced the launch of the next phase of the BBC's own First Click campaign to build on the successes of the last, and talked about future collaborations to broaden digital inclusion. My speech began:

I'm delighted to be joining Martha, Paula and all of you today to celebrate the launch of the digital champions' network and the next phase of the BBC's First Click campaign. At the BBC, we began trying to introduce the British public to the potential of digital technology back in the early 80s with the BBC Micro...

Read the rest of the speech on the BBC Press Office web site.

Mark Thompson is Director General of the BBC

The National Digital Conference is taking place at Old Billingsgate Market, London this afternoon and tomorrow. Watch live online, from 0900 Thursday, on the ND11 web site. The hashtag is #ND11.
Read the First Click Friends press release on the BBC Press Office web site.
Follow @ND11 on Twitter.
Help someone get online on on the First Click Friends web site.
There's an post about First Click Friends on the BBC Webwise blog.

Today's industrial action - an email from Mark Thompson

2010-11-05T15:48:06+00:00

The BBC Director-General, Mark Thompson sent the following email to all BBC staff today:

This email is going to everyone

Dear All,

As I think everyone must know by now, this is the first day of a 48 hour strike called by the NUJ. This is what the picture looks like this afternoon:

• around one in six staff who were due to be on duty today have decided not to work;

• five in six are working normally;

• so far the BBC's news output has been significantly less affected than we originally expected and no BBC services have been blacked out or gone off air;

• however, a few programmes have been lost and our ability to deliver the normal scale and quality of news and journalism to our audiences here and around the world has been impaired.

It is always a matter of regret when there is any disruption to our services to the public and that is why I have apologised to our viewers, listeners and online users this morning.

I recognise of course the right of NUJ members to conduct legal strike action. But I would like to take this opportunity to thank the vast majority of staff who have chosen to come to work today and in particular to thank everyone who is working hard to ensure that, despite the strike, the BBC is still able to provide the public with local, national and international news on TV, radio and the web.

All the best,

Mark Thompson
Director-General

Read Mark Thompson's blog post which was published this morning.

The BBC Press Office website will be publishing regular service announcements and statements about the NUJ industrial action.

You can also follow the @bbcpress and @AboutTheBBC Twitter feeds for updates.

Mark Thompson on Industrial Action by NUJ

2010-11-05T06:00:00+00:00

The National Union of Journalists has called a 48 hour strike of BBC journalists for Friday and Saturday. Much of the output of the BBC is unaffected by this action. However, it is inevitable that some programmes and content will be disrupted. I would like to apologise wholeheartedly for this and assure you that we are doing everything we can to bring you as much as possible of our usual programming.

We will provide regular updates on-air and at www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice of programmes that are affected.

I would like to explain how we reached this position. The strike is about changes to our pension scheme, changes which have been accepted by the majority of unions. These changes were necessary to deal with a pension deficit which, like many other schemes, is due to the performance of financial markets and the fact that people are living longer.

We first put forward initial proposals to change the BBC Pension Scheme in June. (You can read more on the reasons why changes are needed in a blog by Zarin Patel, Chief Financial Officer). Since then, we have consulted and listened to staff, and brought in changes to our proposals as a result.

We have made clear this is our final offer and that we can make no more changes without imposing an unacceptable burden on Licence Fee payers.

Four out of the five unions have accepted our revised offer, and this is also reflected in feedback from staff. The NUJ alone, which represents 17% of staff, have voted to reject the offer and go on strike. We do not know how many NUJ members voted to reject the agreement in the consultative ballot but it was almost certainly a minority of the total NUJ membership - and certainly a very small percentage of the BBC workforce as a whole.

It has never been more important to ensure the BBC is spending every penny of Licence Fee payers money wisely and delivering the quality programmes and services audiences want. We believe the current pension proposals are realistic and affordable, and will provide fair pension provision for BBC staff for the future.

This has been a difficult period for staff. However, the people who lose out most in any strike action are the very people we are here to serve - our audiences. Again, I apologise for the disruption. We will do everything in our power to bring you as much as possible of our usual programming and services.

Mark Thompson is BBC Director-General

The BBC Press Office website will be publishing regular service announcements and statements about the NUJ industrial action.

You can also follow the @bbcpress and @AboutTheBBC Twitter feeds for updates.

The Spending Review - a press round-up

2010-10-21T10:58:45+00:00

Yesterday the Chancellor George Osborne unveiled details of the Spending Review in the House of Commons. Sir Michael Lyons, Chairman of the BBC Trust responded to the announcement of a new licence fee settlement in a statement that was published on the Trust website. In an interview on Radio 4's The Media Show, Sir Michael told Steve Hewlett that the Foreign Office would still have a say over the scale of World Service operations, even though it would no longer fund them and added "the BBC has complete editorial freedom in this."

In response to the announcements that the licence fee will be frozen for six years, the corporation's budget cut by 16% and made to fund services including BBC World Service and the Welsh-language TV channel, S4C, BBC Director General, Mark Thompson told BBC staff in an email that "This is a realistic deal in exceptional circumstances securing a strong independent BBC for the next six years." The Guardian reports that Peter Salmon, Director of BBC North said it's "an exceptional settlement and it's going to be difficult for the BBC but it's difficult for everyone in the whole UK economy." In a report by The Independent, former Culture Secretary Ben Bradshaw is quoted as saying that the changes are an 'act of cultural and political vandalism.'

A BBC News Wales story reports that S4C plans to launch a judicial review of the decision to transfer responsibility for its funding to the BBC, the chairman John Walter Jones said it was "effectively" a merger and would be "disastrous" for viewers. But Mark Thompson said the arrangement would help safeguard Welsh language broadcasting and broadcasting minister Ed Vaizey said the deal gave S4C "a fantastic future" and that the channel might be able to save on administration and take advantage of the BBC's "expertise".

Today in the Telegraph, Neil Midgley argues that the BBC has "good reasons to celebrate (having) secured the BBC's income for a full six years and effectively escaped from political interference". Dan Sabbagh on Beehive City concludes that "there are results for Thompson and Lyons too. The Trust is still in charge as before. There is no political requirement on the BBC to cut stars' pay. And, above all, the licence fee funding model is securely in place until 2017".

You can read more stories about how the BBC is effected by the Spending Review in the About the BBC bookmarks.

Laura Murray is the Editor of the About the BBC Blog

Post MacTaggart Q&A with Mark Thompson

2010-08-28T13:00:09+00:00

BBC Director General Mark Thompson answered questions at the Edinburgh International Television Festival today as delegates reflected on his James MacTaggart Memorial Lecture last night.

In an hour-long session, Thompson answered questions from Channel 4 Newscaster Krishnan Guru-Murthy and from the floor on areas such as BBC pay and pensions, the BBC's move to Salford, NAO access, Strictly Come Dancing and BBC 6 Music.

On pay, Thompson rejected suggestions that the BBC had moved too little too late, pointing out that it had been one of the first public bodies to recognize that changes had to be made, with bonuses and pay frozen more than a year ago. The challenge for the BBC was how to attract the best people. But Thompson said working for the BBC was a privilege and there was no debate that people at the BBC should be earning less than at competitors.

He restated his commitment to transparency and public scrutiny. However in areas where the BBC is competing directly with other broadcasters, for example sports rights, he warned that disclosure could put the BBC at a disadvantage and work against the public benefit. Thompson said the public absolutely had the right to see how much the BBC spent on top talent, however, he questioned whether publishing exact salaries for artists and contributors was what the public wanted and whether it would lead to better presenters.

Thompson also defended the BBC's decision to create a new media centre in Salford, saying that bringing 2300 people to the area in a state of the art broadcasting centre would allow people to work together in completely new ways to make the best programmes in the world, redefining the BBC.

He said he understood that for staff, the fact of moving from London to Manchester was a significant deal. However, Thompson said he believed ultimately Salford would be a great place to work and this transitional period would be seen differently with hindsight. Salford would be judged when it was up and running.

On Sky Thompson said in his speech he was making the point that far from being an enemy, Sky was a real success story. But, together with the whole industry, Sky could be doing more to invest in British content.

Thompson concluded that there were significant projects happening at the BBC with which he had been personally associated with, such as the move to Salford, and he wanted to see these through.

You can follow the @bbcpress and @AboutTheBBC Twitter feeds for updates from the event.

The Media Guardian Edinburgh International Television Festival - a press round-up

2010-08-28T09:10:14+00:00

The 35th Media Guardian Edinburgh International Television Festival is underway: below is a round up of the highlights of the first two days:

The first day's line-up included a lively 'Build Your Own BBC' session, chaired by Jeremy Vine, the panel featured Ash Atalla, MD Roughcut TV; Alex Connock, CEO Ten Alps; David Elstein, chairman DCD Media; George Entwistle, controller of knowledge commissioning at the BBC; Anne McElvoy, journalist and broadcaster; John Simpson, the BBC's world affairs editor. The session was covered live by Digital Spy who invited the audience to join a debate over the future shape and size of the corporation. There were additional 'Meet The Controller' sessions with Richard Klein (BBC Four) and Stuart Murphy (Sky1 HD, Sky1, 2 & 3, BSkyB) The day ended with the annual James MacTaggart Memorial Lecture: a speech centred around the role of traditional media in the current political landscape.

The MacTaggart lecture was widely anticipated as BBC Director General Mark Thompson's opportunity to respond to James Murdoch's lecture last year. In advance The Guardian reported that Mark Thompson was 'to make vigorous defence of BBC' while Sky news online ran with: 'BBC Head Mark Thompson To Tackle Critics'.

The speech, broadcast and streamed online live on the BBC News Channel and Sky, generated significant discussion on Twitter and other online forums and made Mark Thompson's speech one of the Top10 trending topics on Twitter between 8-9pm.

By the following morning, the main themes to attract press pick-up were the BBC's support of British content, presenter pay and the licence fee while BBC iPlayer's international roll-out was the most talked about topic on blogs such as Pocket Lint and Paid Content. Prominent media commentators Beehive City have also been giving comprehensive coverage and commentary on the speech.

In an article written by Mark Thompson for the Guardian, based on his speech, he suggests that 'Sky TV should invest far more in talent'. The BBC reported that the 'BBC is facing 'a moment of realism' around next year's licence fee negotiation. The Independent reported the speech as being: 'A powerful case for a well-funded and confident public broadcaster'. The Telegraph led with: 'BBC to cut pay for top presenters' , the Times with 'Big names to depart BBC as Director-General pledges deeper cuts', and the Mail with 'It's pay cuts or the sack, says BBC boss - as millionaire stars warned: 'You're replaceable''; while most of the tabloids focused on the same aspect, with the Mirror going with: 'Nobody Is Safe From Bloodbath At The Beeb'.

You can read Mark's speech in full on the Press Office website.

Saturday morning in Edinburgh saw a post-MacTaggart Q&A chaired by Channel 4 Newscaster Krishnan Guru-Murthy take place. The highlights of this can be found on our previous blog post here. Meanwhile the Guardian's Media section focused on the Director General's comments on the BBC's move to Salford, .

The lunchtime session with BBC One controller Jay Hunt, hosted by Simon Mayo was followed live online again by Digital Spy where news of the recommissioning of both Luther and Sherlock as well as a dramatisation of Sebastian Faulks' Birdsong was widely reported by The Stage, Digital Spy and the Press Association. Added to this, a tweet about the return of the series by Sherlock's creator, Mark Gatiss also caused a huge buzz.

The Festival continues tomorrow. For the full schedule, visit the Media Guardian Edinburgh International Television Festival website.

You can follow the @bbcpress and @AboutTheBBC Twitter feeds for updates from the event.

BBC Director General Mark Thompson delivers James MacTaggart Memorial Lecture

2010-08-27T20:49:43+00:00

This evening the BBC Director General, Mark Thompson, delivered the annual James MacTaggart Memorial Lecture at the Media Guardian Edinburgh International Television Festival. You can read Mark's speech in full on the Press Office website.

Tomorrow morning Mark will be answering questions in a post-MacTaggart Q&A.

You can follow the @bbcpress and @AboutTheBBC Twitter feeds for updates from the event.

Laura Murray is Editor of About the BBC Blog

The Media Guardian Edinburgh International Television Festival

2010-08-27T08:00:00+00:00

The Media Guardian Edinburgh International Television Festival begins today. It's a huge fixture in the TV Industry calender and key figures from the BBC will be speaking over the next few days.

The Festival is developed by senior industry figures, providing an arena for the international TV and media industry to share ideas, debate the issues of the day, and build relationships.

This evening the BBC Director General, Mark Thompson, delivers the annual James MacTaggart Memorial Lecture. Then on Saturday morning Mark will be answering questions in a post-MacTaggart Q&A.

Other highlights from the weekend include various Channel Controllers including Jay Hunt (BBC One), Janice Hadlow (BBC Two), Danny Cohen (BBC Three) and Richard Klein (BBC Four) discussing their strategies, programming, risk taking and what's ahead for their channels. Peter Finchman (ITV), Julian Bellamy (Channel 4) and others from across the industry will also reveal their plans for the future of their networks.

Culture Secretary, Jeremy Hunt will have a face-to-face conversation with writer, broadcaster and media consultant, Steve Hewlett on Sunday.

A TV Question Time session will feature panelists Jana Bennett, Diane Abbott MP, David Elstein, Mariella Frostrup and Steven Moffat. Jeremy Vine chairs Build Your Own BBC, with speakers George Dixon, BBC Controller of Knowledge George Entwistle and Evening Standard Executive Editor Anne McElvoy. The session invites advocates to put the case for and against how the BBC is run.

There will also be a Doctor Who masterclass from Steven Moffat featuring actress Karen Gillan (Amy Pond), a Coronation street masterclass and Danny Cohen will chair an EastEnders masterclass marking 25 years of the soap.

For the full schedule, visit the Media Guardian Edinburgh International Television Festival website.

It promises to be a very exciting event and we will be updating the About the BBC blog and the Press Office website over the weekend with details and coverage, so check back for updates and a round-up of the festival highlights.

You can follow the @bbcpress and @AboutTheBBC Twitter feeds for updates from the event.

Laura Murray is Editor of About the BBC Blog

Putting Quality First Annual Report and Accounts 2009/2010

2010-07-05T14:46:43+00:00

Today the BBC Trust published its Annual Report and Accounts for 2009/10.

Following a short speech by the BBC Chairman Sir Michael Lyons, the BBC's Chief Financial Officer, Zarin Patel and BBC Director General, Mark Thompson took members of the press through the following presentation.

Putting Quality First Annual Report and Accounts for 2009/10.ppt

Over on the TV blog you can read Director of BBC Vision, Jana Bennett's blog about the Trust's interim findings from its service review of BBC One, BBC Two and BBC Four.

Laura Murray is the Editor of About the BBC blog

Mark Thompson looks ahead

2010-01-05T12:29:04+00:00

Mark Thompson talks about pay, content and funding in this article published today in Ariel, the BBC staff magazine.

Mark Thompson looks ahead to a year when the size and shape of the post-switchover BBC will emerge; the Canvas internet TV partnership should forge ahead; some of question marks over BBC Worldwide may be removed; and a new government could be calling the shots on how a future BBC will be paid for.

Canvas
Thompson has no doubt that the joint venture to bring catch-up TV into the living-room via broadband will be one of the biggest developments and challenges. "Canvas has the potential to utterly transform the way people think about broadcasting, the internet and universal take-up of broadband, with BBC iPlayer, itv.com and 4oD accessed by millions of households via their main TV set," he says.

Funding
Expected any day, Greg Dyke's heavily leaked creative review for the Conservatives will almost certainly call for the licence fee to be scrapped and replaced by funding from central taxation.

But Thompson would be surprised to see any great change this year. "[Culture Secretary] Ben Bradshaw has said he believes in the licence fee and [Shadow Culture Secretary] Jeremy Hunt that the Tories will abide by the multi-year settlement."

Meanwhile, BBC Worldwide - restricted to a tighter remit by the commercial review - may be heading for a record trading year, the Director-General says. And BBC World Service will talk to the government about grant-in-aid, amid immense pressure on public spending, ahead of its next settlement in 2011.

Strategic review
Thompson plans to publish his first proposals in February. He has already suggested that the BBC website might be trimmed back and that there will be fewer acquired programmes.

"For the public, the biggest question marks are around programme quality and distinctiveness," he notes. "So our focus is on big-impact, quality content that makes a difference. In 2010 that will include Radio 4's A History of the World in 100 Objects and content around the Year of Science."

What about the onward march of bbc.co.uk? "The website is an amazing media success, with 27million users a month, but it's grown like Topsy and some parts are less focused than others."

Is it inevitable that broadcast services will close? "There is not one service that's not there for a good reason, but in a world where there are lots of ways to get quality content, it's reasonable to ask whether there are other ways to access that content."

On Worldwide: "It's right to keep an open mind [on ownership] but continue to look at all the opportunities to develop BBC intellectual properties, not just simple privatisation."

And the proposed joint venture with Channel 4? "A partnership around secondary exploitation of great programmes makes good sense. I hope we can make progress. That will depend on Channel 4's new chief executive."

Salaries
On the continuing pressure over executive pay and star salaries, Thompson - grilled on the subject by Today guest editor PD James - says "We've been tougher on bonuses and executive pay than any other public company or broadcaster."

"The public sector pay debate will continue... but we're not a county council. If you want someone to run BBC One or develop iPlayer, you need the very best people in the world. And they're paid much less here than they would be at ITV or Sky."

He adds: "The public has every right to know what we spend on stars' salaries as a whole, but there is no public interest served in revealing individual [details]."

Out-of-London
"There were," says the Director-General, "dire predictions that no one would want to go to Salford [46 per cent have said yes]. We'll soon be recruiting new talent in the North West. Salford is looking good."

The commitment to base 50 per cent of network TV production out of the capital will be "one of way we add value": "You've only to go to Glasgow and see the critical mass that is developing along the Clyde."

IT systems
The Director-General is candid about the lessons to be learned from recent massive IT failures affecting phones and PCs.

"The frailty of our overall systems has been exposed. We have a legacy of IT systems which we've been trying to do more and more with, and we've now had a series of warnings. We're working hard to minimise the same thing happening again - thinking strategically to make sure we've got the infrastructure we need."

Content
The World Cup and another F1 season will make it a great sporting year, Thompson says, and drama highlights will include Patrick Stewart's Macbeth at Easter.

"Radio 4 is on amazing form and, internationally, Persian TV will continue to have huge impact." At home, the general election promises to be "one of the most interesting in my time in broadcasting".

Confidence
Given everything on the horizon, can the BBC feel confident at the start of the new decade? "There was an interesting moment in 2009, after James Murdoch's MacTaggart lecture. Yes, there was criticism of the BBC, but did people want to lose it? No, and that includes most politicians. There won't be any less noise around us in 2010, but yes, we have room to be confident."

Bridget Middleton is editing the About the BBC blog this week. Chris Jones is on holiday.

Why the BBC should continue to play a central role in Worldwide

2009-12-15T08:26:12+00:00

In today's MediaGuardian I have written about the future of BBC Worldwide. You may wish to visit the website to read the full article.

Beyond 2012 - The Future of the BBC

2009-11-27T16:15:26+00:00

Yesterday I gave a speech to the Voice of the Listener and Viewer (VLV), and I thought readers of this blog might like the chance to read it and also hear a bit more about what I was saying and why.

A few months ago, after discussion with the BBC Trust, I announced a substantial re-examination of the BBC's overall strategy. As technology developments gather pace and the economic outlook changes, we need to be sure the BBC is properly focused on our mission to inform, educate and entertain, and is able to deliver to the standards everyone expects. The big question in my mind was: what needs to change to make sure the BBC continues to do the very best for all audiences in what has become known as 'the digital age'.

At a speech to an industry conference in Cambridge, I sought to do two things: firstly, to highlight the importance in this country of 'public space' - those things which are open to all of us to use and take advantage of, including the BBC - and secondly, to acknowledge that, in a world of greater financial pressure, those of us who occupy that public space need to be able to justify our place both by being very clear why we are there and in delivering what we promise. That's what our strategy review is all about.

Yesterday, when I spoke to the VLV I wanted to make clear that - in reviewing our strategy - our focus would be getting the BBC in the best shape possible to deliver what the public really wants from us: quality programming. Even more than at present, our focus first and foremost in the future will be on quality: creative ambition, excellence and original programming across television, radio and online.

Work is progressing so I will be able to unveil early next year what will be changing at the BBC to allow that increased commitment. And as Sir Michael Lyons announced earlier this week, the Trust will consult publicly on those measures. But in the meantime, I want everyone to understand that quality is our priority and that is what is driving our approach.

Yesterday I also spoke about the importance of the BBC's independence from government and highlighted the difficulties faced by other broadcasters around the world who are not fortunate enough to enjoy the structures which secure the BBC's independence. If you have time, do read the speech in full. Also, you might like to look at a feature on Newsnight last night about the future of the BBC. A proud part of the BBC's heritage is that our news programmes do not shy from holding BBC bosses to account. And you can see that principle in action when Gavin Esler interviewed me, along with industry experts, the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport and his Conservative Shadow.