Post by Kev Mulrenan on Dec 4, 2008 12:05:00 GMT
Amazing isn't it!
The one thing good about the Beeb at the mo for me is BBC4.
from the Grauniad:
BBC3 and BBC4's budgets could be cut under radical plans being discussed to make cost-savings at the corporation.
The BBC is looking to make efficiencies to meet a £140m shortfall over the next five years due to the economic downturn.
Plans to sell off key buildings such as BBC Television Centre in west London are being reviewed, along with spending across the corporation.
Discussions are still in very early stages, but BBC sources said that one of the ideas being mooted is to reduce the budgets of digital youth channel BBC3 and its highbrow sibling BBC4.
"There is a suggestion that BBC3 and BBC4's budgets could be cut as a result of the shortfall but it is early days, no decisions have been made yet," one insider added.
BBC3 has already endured a cut to an £80m annual budget from a high of £97m.
Although some politicians and older commentators such as John Humphrys have called for the closure of BBC3 to safeguard news provision, it has proved a good nursery slope for new comedies.
They have attracted younger audiences to the corporation and some have gone on to become huge hits for the BBC.
Little Britain and Gavin & Stacey have generated millions of pounds in overseas sales and DVDs.
BBC4 has also been critically acclaimed for being the home of high-quality documentaries, culture and event nights such as the recent Guitar Heroes Night.
Three weeks ago the BBC director general, Mark Thompson, sent out a stark email to all employees warning that the financial crisis was forcing the corporation "to look again" at its plans for the future.
He said that a team from the strategy and finance department was talking to divisions across the BBC about how more savings can be made.
The director general said a decline in the commercial property market, rocketing utility costs, and "the consequences of inflation on a fixed revenue business like ours" had led to the shortfall.
Following a lower-than-expected licence fee settlement last year the BBC set out to raise more money by selling off properties.
"We decided that we should sell some of our property holdings in the London W12 area, including Television Centre and [BBC Worldwide's HQ] Woodlands, and planned to do this by 2013. You only need to look at the empty offices across the UK to see that we'll need to review this timetable," Thompson said in his email.
"Delay will have a knock-on effect on our spending plans, a point made starkly ... by Chris Kane, the BBC's head of corporate real estate, who reported that we face as much as a £140m shortfall over the next five years if we are unable to dispose of these assets."
A BBC spokeswoman said: "We've only just begun this work so it is completely premature to speculate where savings might be. We are clear that one of the key guiding principles is to maintain the high-quality output that we continue to deliver - absolutely no decisions have been taken."
BBC3 controller Danny Cohen last week said there had not yet been a decision on whether BBC3's annual budget would be cut further.
The one thing good about the Beeb at the mo for me is BBC4.
from the Grauniad:
BBC3 and BBC4's budgets could be cut under radical plans being discussed to make cost-savings at the corporation.
The BBC is looking to make efficiencies to meet a £140m shortfall over the next five years due to the economic downturn.
Plans to sell off key buildings such as BBC Television Centre in west London are being reviewed, along with spending across the corporation.
Discussions are still in very early stages, but BBC sources said that one of the ideas being mooted is to reduce the budgets of digital youth channel BBC3 and its highbrow sibling BBC4.
"There is a suggestion that BBC3 and BBC4's budgets could be cut as a result of the shortfall but it is early days, no decisions have been made yet," one insider added.
BBC3 has already endured a cut to an £80m annual budget from a high of £97m.
Although some politicians and older commentators such as John Humphrys have called for the closure of BBC3 to safeguard news provision, it has proved a good nursery slope for new comedies.
They have attracted younger audiences to the corporation and some have gone on to become huge hits for the BBC.
Little Britain and Gavin & Stacey have generated millions of pounds in overseas sales and DVDs.
BBC4 has also been critically acclaimed for being the home of high-quality documentaries, culture and event nights such as the recent Guitar Heroes Night.
Three weeks ago the BBC director general, Mark Thompson, sent out a stark email to all employees warning that the financial crisis was forcing the corporation "to look again" at its plans for the future.
He said that a team from the strategy and finance department was talking to divisions across the BBC about how more savings can be made.
The director general said a decline in the commercial property market, rocketing utility costs, and "the consequences of inflation on a fixed revenue business like ours" had led to the shortfall.
Following a lower-than-expected licence fee settlement last year the BBC set out to raise more money by selling off properties.
"We decided that we should sell some of our property holdings in the London W12 area, including Television Centre and [BBC Worldwide's HQ] Woodlands, and planned to do this by 2013. You only need to look at the empty offices across the UK to see that we'll need to review this timetable," Thompson said in his email.
"Delay will have a knock-on effect on our spending plans, a point made starkly ... by Chris Kane, the BBC's head of corporate real estate, who reported that we face as much as a £140m shortfall over the next five years if we are unable to dispose of these assets."
A BBC spokeswoman said: "We've only just begun this work so it is completely premature to speculate where savings might be. We are clear that one of the key guiding principles is to maintain the high-quality output that we continue to deliver - absolutely no decisions have been taken."
BBC3 controller Danny Cohen last week said there had not yet been a decision on whether BBC3's annual budget would be cut further.
