BBC1 cuts back content spend

The BBC has slashed spending on content for flagship network BBC1 by more than 9% during the 12 months to March 2014, according to figures released today.

The UK pubcaster spent £1.02bn (US$1.74bn) on BBC1 between April 2013 and March 2014, down from £1.29bn the year before, with shows such as period drama The Paradise and courtroom drama Silk both being axed earlier this year.

Period police drama Ripper Street was cancelled in December before a social media campaign forced the BBC to revive the series with Amazon’s VoD service Prime Instant Video. It will be made available to Prime Instant members first before being broadcast on BBC1 several months later.

Elsewhere, content spending on factual-skewing BBC2 dropped by 1% to £400m, while BBC3, which will become an online-only channel from next year, suffered a 9% drop.

The cuts are part of the BBC’s plan to lop £700m from its overall budget by 2016/17 as a result of its Delivering Quality First Initiative, which has seen daytime programming sliced from factual-skewing BBC2 and an 8% cut in senior manager numbers, from 437 in 2012/13 to 403 this March.

The broadcaster revealed it had saved £374m during the year to March, which included a £6m saving on talent costs, which now stand at £194m.

Figures also showed that the cuts were affecting the appeal of the BBC’s networks, with BBC1’s appreciation index score dropping from 82.6 out of 100 last year to 81.5 for 2013/14.

The network’s reach also fell from 77.6% in 2012/13 to 74.9%, which was put down to the effect of the London Olympics in 2012 and other sporting events.

However, director of television Danny Cohen said it would be introducing programmes that would be “even more distinctive” with “high-impact drama” and “natural history” programming.

Cohen picked out crime dramas Sherlock and Peaky Blinders as well as comedy series Mrs Brown’s Boys as particular highlights.

The acting chairman of the BBC Trust, which oversees the pubcaster’s operations, added that the corporation had “got back on its feet after a very bruising period.”

The BBC has suffered a succession of blows to its reputation over recent years, including the fall-out from pay-offs to former execs and the Jimmy Saville sex abuse scandal.

The broadcaster revealed it had spent nearly £26m on exec pay-offs in the last financial year, down from more than £40m in 2012/13.

The Trust said that the BBC was now recovering following the scandals and had been making “good progress on its priorities for the past 12 months.”

“We are expecting further progress in the next year in areas including further improvements in the variety and originality of programmes, value for money and serving an increasingly diverse UK,” it said.