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More BBC licence fee cuts could cost 32,000 jobs, warns Tony Hall
Friday August 28th 2015The BBC director general, Tony Hall, has warned that further cuts to the corporation’s funding and remit could result in more than 30,000 job losses across the TV industry.
Speaking ahead of a keynote speech by the culture secretary, John Whittingdale, at the Guardian Edinburgh International TV festival that is expected to be critical of the BBC, Hall said that cuts to licence fee income would result in an economic downturn that would stretch beyond the corporation itself.
“New research shows that, because of the boost the BBC provides, if you cut the licence fee by 25% you’d lose about 32,000 jobs across the whole economy,” said Hall. “These aren’t just jobs at the BBC, but across the TV industry – at independent producers, suppliers and studios up and down the country.”
Whittingdale is carrying out a review of the BBC ahead of charter renewal next year, questioning whether the corporation should continue to try to be “all things to all people” or be given a much narrower focus.
Hall said the BBC had been a breeding ground for creative excellence, citing Tom Hooper, who started out on EastEnders and went on to direct The King’s Speech, and The Theory of Everything director James Marsh, another former BBC employee.
“When series like Game of Thrones are choosing where to film, they know that the UK has the skills to deliver,” he said. “Our research tells us that as much as audiences enjoy the big US blockbusters like House of Cards and Breaking Bad, they also want programmes set in the UK. That’s why British shows like Happy Valley, Luther, Poldark, Sherlock and Broadchurch are so popular and many household names made their breakthrough on BBC shows. Without the BBC’s investment the number of British shows made will fall”.
Hall argued that critics who say the BBC is too big are mistaken, despite the corporation growing from two channels to nine since 1994.
He said the TV landscape had seen channel numbers grow from 61 to 536 over the same period and that the BBC had, in fact, shrunk in relative size compared with its commercial rivals.
“The BBC accounts for a far smaller proportion of television now than it did 20 years ago,” he said. “Globally, we have less than half the revenue of Sky and a sixth of the revenue of Disney”.
Hall said that despite this, the BBC plays a critical role in the “Britishness” of British TV at a time when a new generation of US rivals are emerging.
“As huge American companies such as Amazon, Google and Apple start to make programmes and services of their own, we need to think carefully about what makes British telly special,” he said. “It is all too easy to take [the BBC] for granted, and with the government deciding on the future of the BBC, there is much at stake. A strong BBC also contributes to a strong UK economy. A strong BBC will help deliver a strong Britain”.
Source: The Guardian
Front Page, Headline, Industry News
More BBC licence fee cuts could cost 32,000 jobs, warns Tony Hall
Friday August 28th 2015The BBC director general, Tony Hall, has warned that further cuts to the corporation’s funding and remit could result in more than 30,000 job losses across the TV industry.
Speaking ahead of a keynote speech by the culture secretary, John Whittingdale, at the Guardian Edinburgh International TV festival that is expected to be critical of the BBC, Hall said that cuts to licence fee income would result in an economic downturn that would stretch beyond the corporation itself.
“New research shows that, because of the boost the BBC provides, if you cut the licence fee by 25% you’d lose about 32,000 jobs across the whole economy,” said Hall. “These aren’t just jobs at the BBC, but across the TV industry – at independent producers, suppliers and studios up and down the country.”
Whittingdale is carrying out a review of the BBC ahead of charter renewal next year, questioning whether the corporation should continue to try to be “all things to all people” or be given a much narrower focus.
Hall said the BBC had been a breeding ground for creative excellence, citing Tom Hooper, who started out on EastEnders and went on to direct The King’s Speech, and The Theory of Everything director James Marsh, another former BBC employee.
“When series like Game of Thrones are choosing where to film, they know that the UK has the skills to deliver,” he said. “Our research tells us that as much as audiences enjoy the big US blockbusters like House of Cards and Breaking Bad, they also want programmes set in the UK. That’s why British shows like Happy Valley, Luther, Poldark, Sherlock and Broadchurch are so popular and many household names made their breakthrough on BBC shows. Without the BBC’s investment the number of British shows made will fall”.
Hall argued that critics who say the BBC is too big are mistaken, despite the corporation growing from two channels to nine since 1994.
He said the TV landscape had seen channel numbers grow from 61 to 536 over the same period and that the BBC had, in fact, shrunk in relative size compared with its commercial rivals.
“The BBC accounts for a far smaller proportion of television now than it did 20 years ago,” he said. “Globally, we have less than half the revenue of Sky and a sixth of the revenue of Disney”.
Hall said that despite this, the BBC plays a critical role in the “Britishness” of British TV at a time when a new generation of US rivals are emerging.
“As huge American companies such as Amazon, Google and Apple start to make programmes and services of their own, we need to think carefully about what makes British telly special,” he said. “It is all too easy to take [the BBC] for granted, and with the government deciding on the future of the BBC, there is much at stake. A strong BBC also contributes to a strong UK economy. A strong BBC will help deliver a strong Britain”.
Source: The Guardian
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Front Page, Headline, Industry News
More BBC licence fee cuts could cost 32,000 jobs, warns Tony Hall
Friday August 28th 2015The BBC director general, Tony Hall, has warned that further cuts to the corporation’s funding and remit could result in more than 30,000 job losses across the TV industry.
Speaking ahead of a keynote speech by the culture secretary, John Whittingdale, at the Guardian Edinburgh International TV festival that is expected to be critical of the BBC, Hall said that cuts to licence fee income would result in an economic downturn that would stretch beyond the corporation itself.
“New research shows that, because of the boost the BBC provides, if you cut the licence fee by 25% you’d lose about 32,000 jobs across the whole economy,” said Hall. “These aren’t just jobs at the BBC, but across the TV industry – at independent producers, suppliers and studios up and down the country.”
Whittingdale is carrying out a review of the BBC ahead of charter renewal next year, questioning whether the corporation should continue to try to be “all things to all people” or be given a much narrower focus.
Hall said the BBC had been a breeding ground for creative excellence, citing Tom Hooper, who started out on EastEnders and went on to direct The King’s Speech, and The Theory of Everything director James Marsh, another former BBC employee.
“When series like Game of Thrones are choosing where to film, they know that the UK has the skills to deliver,” he said. “Our research tells us that as much as audiences enjoy the big US blockbusters like House of Cards and Breaking Bad, they also want programmes set in the UK. That’s why British shows like Happy Valley, Luther, Poldark, Sherlock and Broadchurch are so popular and many household names made their breakthrough on BBC shows. Without the BBC’s investment the number of British shows made will fall”.
Hall argued that critics who say the BBC is too big are mistaken, despite the corporation growing from two channels to nine since 1994.
He said the TV landscape had seen channel numbers grow from 61 to 536 over the same period and that the BBC had, in fact, shrunk in relative size compared with its commercial rivals.
“The BBC accounts for a far smaller proportion of television now than it did 20 years ago,” he said. “Globally, we have less than half the revenue of Sky and a sixth of the revenue of Disney”.
Hall said that despite this, the BBC plays a critical role in the “Britishness” of British TV at a time when a new generation of US rivals are emerging.
“As huge American companies such as Amazon, Google and Apple start to make programmes and services of their own, we need to think carefully about what makes British telly special,” he said. “It is all too easy to take [the BBC] for granted, and with the government deciding on the future of the BBC, there is much at stake. A strong BBC also contributes to a strong UK economy. A strong BBC will help deliver a strong Britain”.
Source: The Guardian
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