Thompson: BBC independence under threat

The BBC’s director general has warned of an increasing danger that “the very foundation” of the UK public service broadcaster’s (PSB) independence could be “under-played or even forgotten” by the government.

In a speech at a Voice of the Listener and Viewer conference in London last night, Mark Thompson argued that, “as governments grapple with other serious policy and financial issues,” the BBC’s independence could end up being marginalised. He warned: “The BBC is a public broadcaster, not an arm of the welfare state.”

As an example, Thompson highlighted the Corporation’s recent government negotiation, which saw the BBC’s licence fee frozen for six years, as an example that “the threats are real.”

“The present coalition government came very close, by some hours, to insisting that the BBC should pick up the costs of a substantial social benefit – free licence fees for the over-75s,” he said. “In my view, this move would also have called into question both the legitimacy of the licence fee for the remaining payers and the financial security of the BBC. It too would have damaged the BBC’s independence.

“There was also the suggestion that the BBC should take on the responsibility for broadcasting some of the material commissioned and generated by the Central Office of Information, in other words government advertising.

“This too would be a fundamental and wholly unacceptable attack on the BBC and one we’d fight tooth and nail. The BBC is an independent public broadcaster, not a state broadcaster or an arm of government.”

Elsewhere in the speech, Thompson said that, although the speed with which the government deal had been agreed was surprising, the overall agreement was good. “The 16% savings we are asked to find are in line with other so-called favoured cultural institutions,” he said. “Other parts of the public sector are facing cuts of 30%, 50% or more.

“And the settlement gives the BBC certainty about its funding from today to December 31, 2016, more than six years away. That certainty is itself precious, and more or less unique in an industry which, wherever you look in the world, is facing enormous threats.”

Thompson’s speech came after former BBC and ITV chairman Michael Grade said earlier in the day that part of the BBC’s licence fee should be used to fund rival PSB Channel 4. Talking at Cambridge University, Grade said: “It’s pretty obvious to any outside observer, and certainly to me as an ex-chairman, that the BBC could be much more efficiently run.

“I have no doubt that efficiency savings at the BBC, including perhaps the removal of at least one television service, could easily produce a viable income for Channel 4 – let’s say £500m (US$787.6m).”