BBC defends right to make shows such as Strictly Come Dancing

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/oct/07/bbc-defends-right-shows-such-as-strictly-come-dancing

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The BBC will mount a robust defence of its right to make primetime entertainment shows such as Strictly Come Dancing in its response to the government’s green paper on its future.

In a document described as “punchy and plain-speaking”, the BBC will defend the distinctiveness of its TV entertainment, as well as the output of Radio 1 and Radio 2, which were singled out for criticism in the green paper.

“The public wants and expects the BBC to deliver entertainment,” said a BBC insider. “Competition on a Saturday night has been part of the TV landscape for generations and drives up quality with the viewer being the winner with better programmes.”

Unveiling the green paper on the future of the BBC in July, culture secretary John Whittingdale asked whether the BBC should continue to strive to be “all things to all people”. The corporation’s response, which will be published on Thursday and will total more than 100 pages, answering each of the paper’s 19 questions in turn, is expected to be a resounding “yes”.

Strictly Come Dancing and another BBC1 Saturday night hit, The Voice, became a focus for critics who argued the BBC had become “overly commercial”. Whittingdale initially said the public service argument for Strictly was “debatable” before appearing to change his mind and declare it “admirable”.

Elsewhere in its submission to the government’s consultation, which is believed to have attracted more than 100,000 responses, the BBC will back the creation of a unitary board, with a non-executive chairman sitting alongside the director general, sounding the death knell for the much-maligned BBC Trust.

It will reject the idea of the licence fee being shared with its commercial rivals and will call for an 11-year royal charter to remove the debate about its future from the electoral cycle.

It will also call on the public to be formally consulted in future debates about the funding and role of the BBC after the “shotgun” deals of the last two licence fee settlements.

Related: BBC green paper: the key points

But the document will not expand on which services might be axed as a result of the BBC’s controversial funding deal with the government in which it took on the £700m cost of free licence fees for the over-75s. Areas including BBC4, the BBC News channel and some children’s services are said to be under threat.

A BBC source said: “The BBC is an asset for Britain. One that will have to change and evolve, but at the heart of that change must be the recognition that the public don’t want a narrowly focused BBC. They want one that produces great programmes and offers Britain a strong voice abroad.

“While the future governance and regulation of the BBC must be strong with clear lines of accountability, it is also important that the BBC retains its independence from government.”

The BBC will come out firmly against “top-slicing” after the government said it would look at using licence fee money for other broadcasters such as Channel 4, saying such a move would weaken accountability for public money and erode the BBC’s independence.

It will also argue against the mooted privatisation of BBC Worldwide, saying it would add £10 to the cost of the licence fee and lead to greater commercialisation of the corporation’s output.

In defence of its distinctiveness, the BBC will say 27% of primetime content on BBC1 is factual, against 12% on ITV, and say nearly half (49%) of Radio 1’s playlist is for artists without a top 10 single, compared to 12% on commercial radio network, Capital.

Describing the debate about its future as too heavy on assertion with not enough facts, it will outline plans to further increase its efficiency and cut overheads and save 20% of its costs in the first five years of the next charter, beginning in 2017.

The BBC source added: “We want to continue to work with the government to ensure the public has a BBC they can continue to be proud of.”