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The NAO review looked at the effectiveness of the Â鶹Éç's management of its coverage of major sporting and music events, once the decision to cover an event had been taken. It considered how the Â鶹Éç initiates, plans, delivers and reviews this coverage.

The report found that five out of the six events examined finished under budget or no more than one per cent over budget (with the sixth five per cent over budget). However, the NAO recommends that the Â鶹Éç improves the way it commissions coverage of events and evaluates them post-broadcast. The Trust accepts the NAO's recommendations, many of which have already been acted upon and the remainder of which the Executive is responding to.

Viewers and listeners generally valued the coverage with, for example, 70 per cent of people giving the Â鶹Éç eight out of ten for its coverage of Euro 2008, while approximately 80 per cent of the UK population watched at least three minutes of Olympic coverage in 2008.

Key points from the report and the Trust's response to them include:

1. When the Â鶹Éç commissions coverage of events, and approves budgets, it does not identify intended benefits or carry out a formal cost-benefit consideration of a range of coverage options. This limits its ability to make informed judgements about its use of funds. By not setting out what the intended benefits are, and not carrying out systematic reviews, it is difficult for the Â鶹Éç to assess the success of its coverage and the value for money it has secured.
2. The Â鶹Éç Trust's view is that it is appropriate to carry out full pre-event options analysis and post-event reviews for periodic events, but considers that the detail required may vary for recurring annual events where they represent "business as usual". In all cases the extent of analysis and review must be proportionate in terms of the benefits delivered, relative to the time and resources involved. The Trust will require the Executive to put forward further proposals to improve current systems.
3. The Â鶹Éç does not have a clear view of the total budget for coverage of individual major music and sporting events. Separate budgets are drawn up for each media platform and some talent costs are approved separately as part of long-term contracts.

The Trust's view is that the Â鶹Éç Executive has already taken action in this respect, including setting up Popular and Classical Music Boards, which now ensure costs are collated and reviewed by a single body. In sport, the 2012 Olympics are being organised and managed through a dedicated programme overseen by the Â鶹Éç Director of London 2012. The Trust will require the Executive to consider ways in which such arrangements could be applied more widely to sporting events.

The Â鶹Éç has used only limited and informal internal benchmarking to compare the costs and production processes of recurring and similar major sporting and music events it covers. The Â鶹Éç should identify events it covers that would allow for cost comparisons and hold reviews periodically.

The Â鶹Éç Trust's view is that benchmarking is important but it notes that the Â鶹Éç has encountered a reluctance from other broadcasters to share information, making internal benchmarking particularly important. To this end several pan-Â鶹Éç groups have been set up to allow sharing of best practice and costs. The Trust will keep these arrangements under review.

Overall the Trust found that many of the NAO's recommendations have already been implemented by the Executive following the 2008 events studied. For the remaining recommendations, the Trust is satisfied that the Executive's proposed actions are an appropriate initial response to the NAO's findings. The Trust will require the Executive to produce an action plan, including a clear timetable, for implementation of the recommendations. It will share this with the NAO and progress against the plan will be reported back to the Trust.

Jeremy Peat, Â鶹Éç Trustee, said:

"The Trust commissioned this report as part of our programme for assessing value for money and welcomes the analysis that the NAO has produced. While covering high profile sports and music events is a core part of the Â鶹Éç's job - and, as this report notes, the Â鶹Éç's work in this area is valued by millions of listeners and viewers - the Trust is emphatic that value for money must be delivered in this area, as is essential across the Â鶹Éç.

"The report finds that the Â鶹Éç has succeeded in coming in very close to or under budget for all but one of the major events considered. But it is also clear that there are areas for improvement, particularly with regard to approval and post-event review processes.

"The Trust notes that the Executive has already implemented many of the NAO's recommendations, but there is still more to do and we will review progress on a regular basis in the context of the action plan that we have asked the Executive to produce."

Amyas Morse, Head of the National Audit Office, said:

"Millions of people enjoy the coverage of major sporting and music events provided by the Â鶹Éç. But, particularly given the current economic conditions, the Â鶹Éç has not done enough to demonstrate that its coverage provides the best possible value for money. When the Â鶹Éç decides that it wants to cover a major sporting or music event, it should carefully explore a range of options, and set down clear objectives against which it can measure its achievements after the event. Without that, the Â鶹Éç will not convince licence fee payers that their money has been well spent."

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Notes for Editors

1. It is the responsibility of the Â鶹Éç Trust, under the Royal Charter, to ensure that value for money is achieved by the Â鶹Éç through its spending of the licence fee. In order to fulfil this responsibility, the Trust commissions and publishes a series of independent value for money reviews each year in consultation with the Comptroller and Auditor General – the head of the NAO. The reviews are undertaken by the NAO or other external agencies.
2. The Â鶹Éç defines 'major events' as those of significant size and complexity, requiring the assembly of specific resources and management beyond that required for continuous day-to-day activities; broadcast live, at least in part, over two days or more; and multi-platform and/or cross-departmental. The six events examined by the NAO (based on the importance of the event and the cost of coverage) comprised 86 per cent of the £40.4 million spent on covering major events in 2008-9 and were: The Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, the 2008 Wimbledon Championships, The Â鶹Éç Proms 2008, Glastonbury 2008 and Radio 1's Big Weekend 2008.
3. Press notices and reports are available from the date of publication on the NAO website, which is at www.nao.org.uk or the Â鶹Éç Trust's website www.bbc.co.uk/bbctrust. Hard copies can be obtained from The Stationery Office on 0845 702 3474.
4. The Comptroller and Auditor General, Amyas Morse, is the head of the National Audit Office which employs some 900 staff. He and the NAO are totally independent of Government. He certifies the accounts of all Government departments and a wide range of other public sector bodies; and he has statutory authority to report to Parliament on the economy, efficiency and effectiveness with which departments and other bodies have used their resources.