BBC hit - LF w/ 16% freeze, to fund S4C, WS, Monitoring, gov's local initiatives - Polidicks

I probably look like a broadcasting anorak now - I'm hoping this'll be the end of the saga for a bit. From the MediaGraun, again: [quote] [img]http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2010/10/19/1287509171297/Chancellor-George-Osborne-006.jpg[/img] The BBC licence fee is to be frozen at the current level of £145.50 for the next six years, a 16% cut in real terms, after the corporation today concluded a bruising round of funding negotiations with the coalition government. BBC executives have staved off the threat of being forced to take on the £556m a year funding of free TV licences for the over-75s, but at a heavy price. Among the extra commitments the BBC has signed up to are to fund the World Service and Welsh-language broadcaster S4C out of the licence fee from 2015. The BBC has also agreed to take over funding of BBC Monitoring. In addition it will provide £150m a year for the rollout of superfast broadband to rural areas from 2013 and £25m a year for local TV and online content. A further one-off capital investment in local TV and online services of £25m will also come from the licence fee and the BBC will also underwrite the rollout of the digital radio network nationally. In total, the BBC has committed to spend an extra £340m of licence-fee money to fund all these undertakings by 2014-15. Government expenditure from central taxation will fall by an equivalent amount. The World Service's annual budget is £272m, S4C's £102m, and BBC Monitoring £25m, although all are expected to be cut as part of the government's comprehensive spending review, to be unveiled tomorrow by the chancellor, George Osborne. A government source said: "This is a good deal for licence fee payers." "This deal gives the BBC long-term security," said another source with knowledge of the deal. "The BBC are very happy with it." The licence fee deal agreed today is expected lead to further cuts in BBC TV, radio and online services. MediaGuardian.co.uk revealed today that the BBC director general, Mark Thompson, was prepared to meet some or all of the £272m annual costs of running the World Service, in a last-ditch attempt to prevent a £556m raid on the BBC's finances to fund the cost of free TV licences for the over-75s. Embroiled in crisis talks over BBC financing in the hours before the final details of government's comprehensive spending review were agreed, the corporation's negotiators had been told that ministers are also considering whether to force the BBC to meet the costs of the World Service, which is currently paid for by the Foreign Office. Yesterday, the BBC set down its opposition to paying for free TV licences, with the BBC Trust saying it "would be unacceptable for licence-fee payers to pick up a bill for what is a universal benefit". The cost of funding the benefit, received by 4m homes, almost matches the £575m budget for BBC2. Ministers were searching for last-minute cost-saving proposals after the Ministry of Defence achieved a better than expected settlement. Defence budgets are being cut by 8%, rather than the 10% originally expected, leading to a funding gap elsewhere. Although the bulk of the BBC's activities are funded by the £145.50 television licence fee, the World Service has always been funded directly by the government. [url]http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/oct/19/bbc-licence-fee-frozen#start-of-comments[/url][/quote] Methinks Vaizey just asked the BBC to underwrite most of the cost of rolling out DAB. It's the smell of cuts in the aiFUCK YOU THOMMO FULL FORCE UP THE AREA WHERE THE SUN NEVER SHINES YOU WIMP (up yours too, Lyons). The LibDems can go shove it too for pledging to "protect and fund public service broadcasting". S4C may be sorted out but now I fear we'll see services with more reach and a larger audience yet with the same PSB goals cut. I would very much prefer a bloated BBC to a bloated BSkyB. To the BBC's credit, though, they probably planned ahead for this - beats getting beat around with having to pay for retirees' licences indefinitely.

My english is to poor to undetstand article

[quote]"The BBC are very happy with it."[/quote] They are only happy with it because it could be much worse than that. Hopefully the government will see sense and block the Murdoch lunatic asylum from owning all of Sky.

[url]http://www.facepunch.com/showthread.php?1016145-UK-TV-licence-fee-frozen-for-six-years-will-now-fund-World-Service-and-S4C-among-others[/url] omg fuck u... Anyway to contribute, I s'pose it could have been worse. I'll wait to see how this affects things.

If this compromises the comedy shows the BBC does, i'll be pissed.

I can see the Doctor who budget dropping considerably.

Great title, very explanatory.

[QUOTE=Fetret;25512567]Great title, very explanatory.[/QUOTE] Mine was better :'(

[QUOTE=Kingy_who;25512308]I can see the Doctor who budget dropping considerably.[/QUOTE] Or Top Gears.

[QUOTE=Kingy_who;25512308]I can see the Doctor who budget dropping considerably.[/QUOTE] BBC will put quality over quantity anyday, if it means keeping viewing figures for that show up. Although if it means a cut in shows they'll probably end up using some BBC Three stuff on BBC One/two or just cut Three altogether.

[QUOTE=Mr. Agree;25517354]BBC will put quality over quantity anyday, if it means keeping viewing figures for that show up. Although if it means a cut in shows they'll probably end up using some BBC Three stuff on BBC One/two or just cut Three altogether.[/QUOTE] Just heard a rather naff joke, actually - seeing whether they'll cut Three or Four more is like waiting for the results of a personality test. I agree with the sentiment, though - we'll see how management is currently like by the cuts they make. (I would rather like them to drop the pretense of Two being "alternative", though. (I imagine the same proposed cuts'll be back - DAB, online (a real pity!), as well as some World Service regions. Perhaps some of their minor programmes - hopefully the ones the government will top-slice off the LF anyway!) [editline]20th October 2010[/editline] Holy shit 13 hour bump, terribly sorry FP.