By David Williams
BBC bosses have defended the broadcaster’s licence fee funding arrangement amid government proposals that it should be shared with other broadcasters for the first time.
Lord Carter’s Digital Britain report, released on June 16, set out plans to share £130m of the £3.6bn television licence fee budget with rival ITV, to prop up the struggling commercial broadcaster’s loss-making regional news output.
The unprecedented move was part of a package of measures intended to improve and modernise the communications industry across the UK – including a project to provide broadband to every household in the country.
But Sir Michael Lyons, chair of the BBC Trust – which represents viewers and seeks to guarantee the corporation’s independence – vowed to oppose any top-slicing. ‘The licence fee must not become a slush fund to be dipped into at will, leading to spiralling demands on licence fee payers to help fund the political or commercial concerns of the day,’ he said.
Lyons’ dismay might be privately shared by BBC director general Mark Thompson.
In an exclusive interview with Public Finance before the Carter report was published, Thompson argued in favour of a licence fee-funded BBC working in the interests of the broadcasting industry as a whole through partnership schemes.
‘The licence fee [would be] helping to underpin the sector beyond the BBC. That’s definitely the intention and it does strengthen the arguments for a licence fee-funded BBC,’ said Thompson.
BBC bosses have defended the broadcaster’s licence fee funding arrangement amid government proposals that it should be shared with other broadcasters for the first time.
Lord Carter’s Digital Britain report, released on June 16, set out plans to share £130m of the £3.6bn television licence fee budget with rival ITV, to prop up the struggling commercial broadcaster’s loss-making regional news output.
The unprecedented move was part of a package of measures intended to improve and modernise the communications industry across the UK – including a project to provide broadband to every household in the country.
But Sir Michael Lyons, chair of the BBC Trust – which represents viewers and seeks to guarantee the corporation’s independence – vowed to oppose any top-slicing. ‘The licence fee must not become a slush fund to be dipped into at will, leading to spiralling demands on licence fee payers to help fund the political or commercial concerns of the day,’ he said.
Lyons’ dismay might be privately shared by BBC director general Mark Thompson.
In an exclusive interview with Public Finance before the Carter report was published, Thompson argued in favour of a licence fee-funded BBC working in the interests of the broadcasting industry as a whole through partnership schemes.
‘The licence fee [would be] helping to underpin the sector beyond the BBC. That’s definitely the intention and it does strengthen the arguments for a licence fee-funded BBC,’ said Thompson.
