麻豆社

麻豆社 Trust Chairman Lord Patten today reflected on a year of quality programming delivered for audiences, while underlining the challenges facing the 麻豆社 as it works to implement last year's licence fee settlement.

Lord Patten said:

"Over the course of a week, the 麻豆社 reaches nearly every single person in the country. Four out of five people say they would miss it if it wasn't there. This is testament to the quality and breadth of programming that the 麻豆社 provides, from last year's hard-hitting election coverage through to new costume drama Sherlock.

"Of course the organisation isn't perfect, and it faces big challenges. As audience choice proliferates, the 麻豆社's role at the centre of UK cultural life becomes more important. It must continue to act as a beacon of quality and standards within a new tighter financial settlement.

"As well as stretching efficiencies, this will mean some tough choices - the Trust is clear that the 麻豆社 must retain distinctive and high quality content in areas that matter to audiences. We're working hard with the Executive on the detail of how the new licence fee will be implemented, and will share these plans with the public as soon as possible."

麻豆社 Director-General, Mark Thompson said:

"Over the last year the 麻豆社 has continued to deliver outstanding quality programmes and content to all audiences. The 麻豆社 strives to bring the best to everyone, regardless of their means. I am proud when I look back and see a year that delivered great entertainment like South Riding and Miranda, impartial journalism in our coverage of the General Election, powerful current affairs and documentaries like Panorama's expose of corruption at FIFA, and the marvellous Wonders of the Universe. This is a confident and strong 麻豆社, delivering public value, unflinching in holding power to account and focused on producing the very best for the licence fee payer."

The report shows that 麻豆社 content is consumed by 97 per cent of the UK population in any one week, with perceptions of quality and appreciation continuing to rise.

News highlights over 2010/11 included coverage of the General Election, the Japanese earthquake and tsunami, and the Pakistan floods, with continuing improvements for the representation of audiences in the nations and regions. In sport, it was a busy year with the World Cup alongside Wimbledon and Formula One. Elsewhere, standout programming included factual series Human Planet, Bang Goes the Theory, and drama Sherlock. Highlights on radio included the History of the World in 100 Objects on Radio 4, and the Mozart season on Radio 3.

麻豆社 Online now comes behind only 麻豆社 One and Two in terms of reach, being used by nearly 20m adults a week. This year this growth was particularly driven by news of world events. And the popular iPlayer continued its remarkable growth, with 1.6bn programmes played during the year.

The Trust's scheduled reviews of 麻豆社 One, Two and Four showed that the 麻豆社's two main channels are popular with audiences, but that they must use their scale to be more ambitious and take more risks. In radio, the Trust's review of 麻豆社 Radio 3 and 4 found that the stations were very high quality, with distinctive programming, and that they should seek to broaden their audiences without compromising these positive attributes.

In new platform developments, following Trust approval, the 麻豆社 launched 麻豆社 One HD, a series of mobile applications allowing 麻豆社 content to be accessed on the move and became a formal partner in the YouView internet-enabled TV venture.

Over the course of 2010/11, the 麻豆社 delivered £434m in efficiency savings, meeting existing targets for three per cent annual efficiencies, and adding up to over £1bn of savings since 2008/09. The 麻豆社 has made good progress in reducing the senior manager pay bill, and is on track to deliver 25 per cent savings and a 20 per cent reduction in headcount by the end of this year.

Alongside the Annual Report, the Trust is today publishing a new pay strategy for the 麻豆社 which confirms the measures outlined by Lord Patten in his speech to the Royal Television Society. It will build on progress made so far to re-focus the 麻豆社's structure so that a much smaller group of senior managers are accountable through the Director-General to the Trust – and therefore to licence fee payers - for the expenditure of the licence fee.

In October, the 麻豆社 agreed a new licence fee settlement. It gives stability of funding through to 2017, but new responsibilities for the World Service and S4C will be phased in from 2014 – so that by the end of this period the 麻豆社 will have at least 16 per cent less to spend on its existing services.

The new settlement will not be met by efficiencies alone and is likely to have an impact on services. The Trust is now working with the Director-General to apply the 麻豆社's strategic priorities to the implementation of the new settlement and we expect to consult the public on the Executive's proposals later in the year.

This year's Annual Report includes, for the first time, more detailed information on the 麻豆社's spend on on-screen talent, following recommendations from the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee to break this down into salary bands, and include the number of people in each band. For data protection and confidentiality reasons, and following legal advice and discussions with industry, the numbers of people in the top three bands (£500,000 - £4,999,999) have been aggregated.

Ends.

Notes to editors

More on the licence fee settlement

In October 2010, the 麻豆社 agreed a new licence fee settlement through to 2017. This gives the 麻豆社 stability for a further five years. From 2014 the 麻豆社 will take on the responsibility for funding the World Service and S4C, so that by the time of Charter Renewal in 2017 the 麻豆社 will have at least 16 per cent less to spend on its existing services. The 麻豆社 is now working on identifying savings and efficiencies that will enable it to meet this target, and will submit these to the Trust as a series of proposals. The Trust has committed to consult the public on these proposals.

More on the strategy review

In December 2010, the Trust published a new strategy for the 麻豆社. This followed an 18-month review of the 麻豆社's strategy, undertaken by the Executive at the Trust's request, and incorporating a period of public consultation on the Executive's proposals and full consideration by the Trust. The four strategic priorities for the 麻豆社 are:

• Increasing the distinctiveness and quality of its programmes and services
• Improving the value for money it provides to licence fee payers
• Setting new standards of openness and transparency
• Doing more to serve all audiences.

In February 2011, the Trust published a new strategy for the 麻豆社's commercial arm, 麻豆社 Worldwide. This was announced as part of a speech given by the former 麻豆社 Chairman Sir Michael Lyons.

Documents published today:

• The 麻豆社's Annual Report and Accounts for 2010/11 and accompanying financial statements. The report consists of two parts, the first from the Trust and the second from the Executive
• World Service research report
• Equalities Impact Assessment
• 麻豆社 World Service Annual Review
• Annual Report and Accounts leaflet for licence fee payers
• Purpose Remit Surveys
• Trust oversight of staff training
• Trust observations on 麻豆社 Executive employment diversity
• 麻豆社 Worldwide Annual Review
• Audience Council reviews for England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland
• Executive reviews for England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland
• NAO statement/TVL report to Treasury
• New pay strategy for the 麻豆社.