Delivering Quality First: Proposals
Post categories: BBC Trust, accountability, stakeholders
| 14:00 UK time, Thursday, 6 October 2011
Mark Thompson and other senior managers are today announcing specific proposals to reduce BBC spending by 20% - "Delivering Quality First".
Lord Patten, Chair of the BBC Trust, summed up the overall context. This is what he said about BBC Online:
We will stick to the plan that has reduced BBC Online's budget by 25 per cent in the past year. We will continue, however, to look to the BBC to invest in new technology where it can add to the audience experience – whether through the development of HD, through access to the back catalogue or through internet-connected television in all its forms.
The detailed proposals [PDF] talk of investing in digital public space, and a digital innovation fund of £40pa to help support, amongst other things, putting BBC content across four screens and making the BBC's back-catalogue available.
The document sums up the BBC's proposals for red button services as:
- Reduce the number of video streams available on satellite and cable from nine to one to provide a more consistent service across all TV platforms. This would take place towards the end of 2012, after the Olympic Games
- Close the news multiscreen service
- Develop new Internet Protocol Television services for connected TV sets, with access through the BBC Red Button
Please go to the DQF website to find out more, or to the BBC Trust consultation to give your opinion.
Ian McDonald is the Content Producer, BBC Internet Blog
