This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/sep/17/bbc-director-general-warns-government-against-top-slicing-licence-fee
The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| BBC director general warns government against 'top-slicing' licence fee | BBC director general warns government against 'top-slicing' licence fee |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The BBC director general has warned the government not to use licence fee money to fund rival broadcasters or look to privatise the corporation’s commercial activities. | The BBC director general has warned the government not to use licence fee money to fund rival broadcasters or look to privatise the corporation’s commercial activities. |
| Tony Hall used a speech on Thursday to try to fight off the possibility of so-called “top slicing” the licence fee and called on the government to stick to the pre-budget funding agreement in which the BBC took on the £700m-a-year cost of free TV licences for the over-75s. | Tony Hall used a speech on Thursday to try to fight off the possibility of so-called “top slicing” the licence fee and called on the government to stick to the pre-budget funding agreement in which the BBC took on the £700m-a-year cost of free TV licences for the over-75s. |
| He also announced the BBC would launch a paid-for version of its online iPlayer in the US next year. | |
| Related: BBC could be forced to change time of 10pm news programme | Related: BBC could be forced to change time of 10pm news programme |
| Hall said top-slicing was “not a good idea in principle or practice” and would regard any attempt to impose it as a “reopening” of the pre-budget funding agreement made between the BBC and the Treasury in July. | Hall said top-slicing was “not a good idea in principle or practice” and would regard any attempt to impose it as a “reopening” of the pre-budget funding agreement made between the BBC and the Treasury in July. |
| “Delivering the agreement means not fragmenting the licence fee through top-slicing,” he told the Royal Television Society in Cambridge. | “Delivering the agreement means not fragmenting the licence fee through top-slicing,” he told the Royal Television Society in Cambridge. |
| “It substitutes public money for private money, it is allocated by committees rather than commissioners. It is subject to lobbying rather than audiences. And it weakens accountability and transparency. | “It substitutes public money for private money, it is allocated by committees rather than commissioners. It is subject to lobbying rather than audiences. And it weakens accountability and transparency. |
| “So let me make it clear for the record that any suggestion of top-slicing or reduction in our ability to make commercial returns would be seen by us as reopening the agreement.” | “So let me make it clear for the record that any suggestion of top-slicing or reduction in our ability to make commercial returns would be seen by us as reopening the agreement.” |
| Related: BBC licence fee deal was better than 2010 agreement, says director general | Related: BBC licence fee deal was better than 2010 agreement, says director general |
| The BBC boss also described BBC Worldwide – which helps exploit Top Gear internationally – as an “indivisible” part of the BBC and said it would launch a new on-demand service showcasing BBC content in the US. | The BBC boss also described BBC Worldwide – which helps exploit Top Gear internationally – as an “indivisible” part of the BBC and said it would launch a new on-demand service showcasing BBC content in the US. |
| He also signalled that the BBC could be prepared to accept replacing the £145.50 TV licence fee with a levy on every household. “The government’s option for a household fee merits further consideration because it could bring new investment and safeguard the BBC’s support for the creative economy for the long term.” | He also signalled that the BBC could be prepared to accept replacing the £145.50 TV licence fee with a levy on every household. “The government’s option for a household fee merits further consideration because it could bring new investment and safeguard the BBC’s support for the creative economy for the long term.” |
| The universal household levy, based on the German model, could potentially include concessions for single occupancy households, introducing a council tax-style progressive element, and was one of the options outlined in the government’s green paper on the future of the BBC. | The universal household levy, based on the German model, could potentially include concessions for single occupancy households, introducing a council tax-style progressive element, and was one of the options outlined in the government’s green paper on the future of the BBC. |
| Hall said that without BBC Worldwide, which has been criticised for not returning more money to the corporation, the licence fee would be £10 a year higher. | Hall said that without BBC Worldwide, which has been criticised for not returning more money to the corporation, the licence fee would be £10 a year higher. |
| Related: BBC should give up EastEnders, says former Channel 4 chief | Related: BBC should give up EastEnders, says former Channel 4 chief |
| The government’s green paper said it would consider the “full range of options for reform … including full or part privatisation” of BBC Worldwide, which generates cash for the BBC through global hits such as Doctor Who and Top Gear. | The government’s green paper said it would consider the “full range of options for reform … including full or part privatisation” of BBC Worldwide, which generates cash for the BBC through global hits such as Doctor Who and Top Gear. |
| Hall said the “proposal to carve out BBC Worldwide from the BBC doesn’t make economic sense … breaking up a system that is delivering returns that are essential to support public service programmes.” | Hall said the “proposal to carve out BBC Worldwide from the BBC doesn’t make economic sense … breaking up a system that is delivering returns that are essential to support public service programmes.” |
| He said commercial returns from BBC Worldwide would grow 15% to £1.2bn over the next five years and quoted The Thick of It creator Armando Iannucci, who said last month the BBC should not “be icky and modest about making money”. | He said commercial returns from BBC Worldwide would grow 15% to £1.2bn over the next five years and quoted The Thick of It creator Armando Iannucci, who said last month the BBC should not “be icky and modest about making money”. |
| The new on-demand service in the US will be a pay-service featuring BBC content not already available in the US on its BBC America channel or other broadcasters. | The new on-demand service in the US will be a pay-service featuring BBC content not already available in the US on its BBC America channel or other broadcasters. |
| Further outlining proposals for a new production division, BBC Studios, Hall warned of a decline in original TV content being made in the UK and said the BBC was central to any revival. | Further outlining proposals for a new production division, BBC Studios, Hall warned of a decline in original TV content being made in the UK and said the BBC was central to any revival. |
| The new BBC Studios would be able to pitch programmes to every broadcaster in the UK, prompting concerns among commercial rivals and independent producers of unfair competition from a publicly funded production arm. | The new BBC Studios would be able to pitch programmes to every broadcaster in the UK, prompting concerns among commercial rivals and independent producers of unfair competition from a publicly funded production arm. |
| Hall said there would be a “level playing field” and BBC Studios would have under 15% of the UK production market. He added it would “operate at arms-length”, there would be “no cross subsidy from the licence fee” and it would be “stringently and independently regulated”. | Hall said there would be a “level playing field” and BBC Studios would have under 15% of the UK production market. He added it would “operate at arms-length”, there would be “no cross subsidy from the licence fee” and it would be “stringently and independently regulated”. |
| He said the funding agreement with the government, dependent on the outcome of charter review, meant “challenges and painful choices”. “Inevitably we’ll have to either close or reduce some services,” Hall added. | He said the funding agreement with the government, dependent on the outcome of charter review, meant “challenges and painful choices”. “Inevitably we’ll have to either close or reduce some services,” Hall added. |
| In language which echoed that of chancellor George Osborne, who accused the BBC of “imperial ambitions”, Hall said global hits such as Sherlock and Doctor Who had helped the BBC build an “empire of the imagination” and he wanted to “set out the case” for how the corporation could continue to be self-sustaining. | In language which echoed that of chancellor George Osborne, who accused the BBC of “imperial ambitions”, Hall said global hits such as Sherlock and Doctor Who had helped the BBC build an “empire of the imagination” and he wanted to “set out the case” for how the corporation could continue to be self-sustaining. |
| “There is a long-term decline in the amount of UK originated content,” he said. “Will Netflix or Amazon make the range and volume of British programmes to make up the difference? Will they make the British programmes that aren’t being made? But my point is that these new businesses are unlikely to address the decline in original content for the UK.” | “There is a long-term decline in the amount of UK originated content,” he said. “Will Netflix or Amazon make the range and volume of British programmes to make up the difference? Will they make the British programmes that aren’t being made? But my point is that these new businesses are unlikely to address the decline in original content for the UK.” |
| Hall also announced the BBC would launch a paid-for equivalent of the iPlayer in the US to compete with video on demand services such as Netflix. | |
| The subscription service, which will launch next year, will showcase thousands of hours of BBC content – possibly including EastEnders – not already available to US audiences on BBC America or other US broadcasters. | |
| It is one of several schemes intended to boost the BBC’s commercial income at a time when its licence fee funding is coming under pressure. | |
| Targeted at an on-demand market that includes Netflix, Amazon and Hulu, Hall said the service would offer “programmes they wouldn’t otherwise get, showcasing British actors and our programme-makers and celebrating our culture”. | |
| “We need to raise commercial income to supplement the licence fee so we can invest as much as possible in content for UK audiences,” Hall added. |