Biggest shakeup ever to BBC could see hit shows moved to private sector
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Version 0 of 1. A plan to move some of the BBC’s biggest shows including Top Gear and EastEnders into a new £400m commercial company will take a step closer on Thursday when the BBC launches a formal consultation about arguably the biggest shakeup ever to the way the corporation operates. The move – one of the biggest changes to the BBC in its 93-year history – will mean transferring around 2,000 staff who make its crown jewel shows such as Casualty and Strictly Come Dancing, and radio and TV comedy, out of the public and into the private sector. The BBC Trust is to canvas views about the director general Tony Hall’s plan to move all of the BBC’s television content production, apart from news, current affairs and sport, out of the publicly-funded part of the BBC into a new subsidiary called BBC Studios. The BBC executive is also launching its own report. Related: Tony Hall’s BBC ‘compete or compare’ speech - full text Hall’s strategy is designed to improve creativity at the BBC and stem the tide of talent leaving the BBC for bigger salaries in the commercial independent sector. Earlier this week, Hall said he wanted the next big entertainment hit to be a BBC one rather than a bought-in show, such as The Voice, but with a frozen licence fee, BBC executives have argued it makes it more difficult for the corporation to retain staff with good ideas when they know they can make a fortune setting up their own companies. Hall is expected to stress in a speech at the Royal Television Society conference in Cambridge the importance of intellectual property to the BBC’s creative future. The creation of BBC Studios will be a two-phase process, with departments such as drama, entertainment and factual and radio comedy at first becoming another division within the corporation under director Peter Salmon. Then, if the entity is allowed to compete to make programmes for other broadcasters, changing the BBC’s royal charter – which runs out at the end of 2016 – to let it become a commercial subsidiary. In exchange for being allowed to create BBC Studios the BBC will open up around 80% of its programme spend to independents – outside of the big popular shows which will transfer to BBC Studios. Some divisions of the BBC such as drama and entertainment are keen to make the switch to BBC Studios so they can make shows for other companies such as HBO. One BBC insider said: “We have programmes that we come up with that we can’t get away at the BBC but we know would work brilliantly on Channel 4 or other channels.” The corporation is keen to expand globally and the creation of BBC Studios will enable programme-makers to work more closely with the corporation’s other commercial subsidiary, BBC Worldwide, and provide more content for its pay TV channels. However, the thriving independent sector is wary of the move as although the BBC says it is putting more slots up for grabs that external producers can tender for, the corporation is effectively creating a so-called “super-indie” of its own that has an estimated £400m worth of guaranteed commissions. The creation of a commercial BBC Studios will also mean that talent and executive pay within the company will no longer be capped and executives will not be subject to the same level of scrutiny as they were in the public sector. Currently many details about how they operate can be obtained through freedom of information requests. Independent production company trade body Pact’s chief executive, John McVay said: “We do not think this is the right thing to do, we do not think this is of benefit to the UK creative economy. We’ve not been satisfied by any of the checks and balances proposed to ensure it does not distort and damage one of the world’s most successful production centres.” It is not yet known how the BBC will ensure that BBC Studios is not sold off, as other parts of the corporation – including its technology and outside broadcast wings – were, although a system of preferential shares is thought to be an option. It is understood that it is not yet decided if regional programmes will also come under the scope of the new BBC Studios. The BBC Trust’s consultation is due to run until the end of the year. The BBC declined to comment. |