Â鶹Éç

Tuesday 19 July 2005
Printable version

Check against delivery

Ìý

A very warm welcome to all of you tonight, both those here in the audience and those watching the webcast.

Ìý

We really appreciate the time you've given to make this event - which is the first in a series of events we're holding throughout the UK.

Ìý

As Chairman of the Â鶹Éç, I am keen to make sure that the Â鶹Éç Governors hear very directly and publicly from licence fee payers like yourself.

Ìý

In return, I promise we will listen hard, and try to give you straight answers.

Ìý

Let me start by introducing my fellow Governors. There are twelve of us, and between us, we have a range of different skills and backgrounds. Incidentally, we have all been appointed in open competition, according to the well-established Nolan principles.

Ìý

We have National Governors for Northern Ireland (Fabian Monds), Scotland (Jeremy Peat) and Wales (Merfyn Jones), as well as a Governor with special responsibility for the English Regions (Ranjit Sondhi).

Ìý

We have people with particular business experience (such as Dermot Gleeson), legal expertise (Anthony Salz) and experience in the public and charitable sectors (Angela Sarkis).

Ìý

Sir Andrew Burns has had a distinguished diplomatic career and recently joined the Board as the Â鶹Éç's International Governor, with special responsibility for the World Service.

Ìý

Deborah Bull has a accomplished career in the Arts, and Richard Tait and myself have first-hand knowledge of the media sector.

Ìý

Our twelfth Governor, Ruth Deech, a senior academic who is the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education, is unfortunately unable to attend this meeting because of commitments in the United States.

Ìý

Finally, let me introduce the most senior member of Â鶹Éç management - the Director-General, Mark Thompson. His senior colleagues are also here in the audience to comment on some of the detail if necessary.

Ìý

So what is our role as Governors? Until recently, the Â鶹Éç Governors were accused of being too close to the management, and we acknowledge that there was a blurring between the roles of both. This is no longer the case.

Ìý

The job of management is to manage. The job of the Governors is to interrogate management's proposals, approve, reject or amend them, and monitor their delivery.

Ìý

Our duty is to make sure the Â鶹Éç remains independent of political or commercial interference and is run solely in the interest of you, the licence fee payers.

Ìý

We have to make sure that you get quality programmes and services, and that they represent value for money. £126.50, the current price of the licence fee, is a lot of money for many people - I understand that.

Ìý

I also appreciate that some people don't feel they should have to pay it at all. However, our research shows that most people consider it good value - but we must never take it for granted.

Ìý

Every organisation needs to understand its customers and have a continuing dialogue with them. Only in this way can we respond to your needs.

Ìý

The Â鶹Éç is in the privileged position of having a protected and guaranteed income stream, so it is even more important that we really do make an effort to listen, respond, and explain.

Ìý

Having said that, I admit that a particular challenge for us is that there is never a single licence fee payer view. At times it feels as if there are 60 million different views!

Ìý

We have to understand and reconcile the needs of many different communities, interests and groups within our audience. Connection with licence fee payers is now a key objective for the Board.

Ìý

To help us, we also have a network of over 500 independent advisers: members of the Broadcasting Councils in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, and the Regional and Local Advisory Councils in England - some of whom are here tonight: welcome.

Ìý

They ensure that the Board responds to issues raised by licence fee payers around the UK.

Ìý

One example of this in action: In Northern Ireland, the Broadcasting Council, following their accountability programme with licence fee payers, advised the Governors about the limited availability of the DAB digital radio services. As a direct result, three new DAB-enabled transmitters will become operational later this year.

Ìý

There's a lot I could say about the future of the Â鶹Éç, the recent Government Green Paper on the future of the Â鶹Éç, the new Â鶹Éç Trust, and so on.

Ìý

But tonight is largely about performance and how you think the Â鶹Éç is doing. This meeting is particularly timely as last week the Board of Governors published the Â鶹Éç's Annual Report and Accounts.

Ìý

So let me turn now to the Â鶹Éç's programmes and services, and a quick overview of the past year from the Governors' perspective.

Ìý

I'll start with Â鶹Éç ONE - still for many people "The Â鶹Éç." I think it's fair to say that Â鶹Éç ONE has had a better year. A lot of work has been done to understand its viewers' needs, and there are encouraging signs with quality output of distinction across a wide range of genres, successfully balancing a high level of public service commitment with appeal for large audiences.

Ìý

Programmes as diverse as Strictly Come Dancing, The Secret Agent, Himalaya with Michael Palin and Blackpool have all made their mark.

Ìý

But there are still areas where you tell us, through research and correspondence, that you want to see improvement. Specifically, you want to see fewer repeats in peak-time; you want to see more original comedy and drama; and you also want to see fewer so called 'derivative' programmes.

Ìý

As a result we have asked management to act. The Director-General, Mark Thompson, has himself committed to delivering these improvements to help meet your expectations.

Ìý

Over on Â鶹Éç TWO, last year also saw some creative success and critical acclaim for quality and originality of its programming.

Ìý

Â鶹Éç TWO is well on the way to restoring a vitally strong and distinctive factual core. It is, however, a channel in transition and there has been some cost in audience terms. T

Ìý

here was a significant fall in the reach of the channel (from 37 million people in 2003/4 to 34 million in 2004/5).

Ìý

Just to explain "reach" - this tells us how many people have seen or heard a particular programme or used a Â鶹Éç service, for at least 15 consecutive minutes, in a week.

Ìý

The challenge now is to increase reach, particularly among younger audiences and in multichannel homes; but without endangering Â鶹Éç TWO's distinctiveness.

Ìý

The Governors have made it clear that it is vital to maintain quality programming and improve audiences.

Ìý

The digital television channels are making good progress. Â鶹Éç THREE has produced some outstanding programmes: Little Britain, Casanova, Flashmob - The Opera and the documentaries such as 18 With a Bullet.

Ìý

However, the half hour news at 7.00pm has not succeeded in attracting and maintaining its target audience and, in response, we have asked management to consider the future role of news on the channel.

Ìý

And as with Â鶹Éç TWO, we are encouraging management to explore ways to increase the channel's reach, which is currently 5.6 million viewers per week, without putting at risk its growing reputation for innovation.

Ìý

Â鶹Éç FOUR has continued to provide a distinctive mix of documentary, performance, music and topical features.

Ìý

Its audiences are rising, with an average weekly reach of 1.8 million people, but has some way to go to reach its potential and it is clear that we need to grow the channel's reach.

Ìý

Some industry observers have suggested that the best way to do this is to make the channel more mainstream. The Governors disagree.

Ìý

This would threaten its ability to take risks - and would inevitably mean that Â鶹Éç FOUR would begin to encroach on the territory of other channels, which would benefit neither licence fee payers nor the wider broadcasting market.

Ìý

Time and again you tell us that the Â鶹Éç's children's channels, CÂ鶹Éç and CBeebies, are a great justification for the licence fee. They both continue to perform well.

Ìý

We were pleased too with the results of an independent review, which was very positive.

Ìý

There is no question that the Â鶹Éç's digital television services have helped drive the success of Freeview.

Ìý

However, it is a source of continuing concern for the Governors that approximately ten per cent of each licence fee is spent on services that some licence fee payers cannot receive.

Ìý

This anomaly will end in 2012 when the analogue signal is switched off; in the meantime we are discussing with potential partners the possibility of developing a satellite equivalent of Freeview.

Ìý

Judging by your response, Â鶹Éç Radio has had a strong year: reach continues to grow year-on-year, and over two-thirds of the adult population listen to Â鶹Éç Radio.

Ìý

This is a real achievement in such a competitive environment. Having said that, Â鶹Éç Radio must not be complacent and we recognise our responsibility as Governors in ensuring that Â鶹Éç Radio continues to meet its public service remit.

Ìý

As we make clear in the Annual Report, the Governors are aware of concerns expressed by commercial networks about Radios 1 and 2.

Ìý

We are confident both are currently offering a service that is distinctive from their commercial rivals.

Ìý

bbc.co.uk is a clear example of how the Â鶹Éç's public purpose has driven change in the last year and how valid concerns about the service have been addressed.

Ìý

The online remit was revised to provide stronger direction and tighter boundaries, and some sites such as Pure Soap, the soap opera site, were closed.

Ìý

Elsewhere in New Media there have been lots of new developments: the re-launched Radio Player; the birth of podcasting; trials of iMP -the interactive media player that holds the potential of allowing downloads of television programmes; good work in developing the potential of interactivity - particularly strong during the Olympics, with over nine million viewers pressing the red button to access additional coverage.

Ìý

In News, it was a year of major, challenging stories, such as the Asian tsunami, the Beslan school massacre, the death of Pope John Paul II, and closer to home, the floods in Boscastle and Carlisle. News responded confidently.

Ìý

There were some slips-ups too: an inappropriate personal remark in From Our Own Correspondent; and, following a hoax phonecall, the broadcast of an untrue story about compensation for the victims of the Bhopal disaster.

Ìý

However, the Â鶹Éç responded frankly and honestly and made sure the lessons were learned.

Ìý

The recommendations of the Neil Report, which considered the editorial lessons learned following the Hutton Inquiry, were fully embraced by the Â鶹Éç's Executive Board.

Ìý

The Governors are acutely aware that independence and impartiality are the cornerstones of the Â鶹Éç's news provision, and that shows why recent surveys show that 80 per cent of the public trust Â鶹Éç News.

Ìý

Something we often hear from licence-fee payers who live outside London is that Â鶹Éç should pay greater attention to its audiences around the UK.

Ìý

The Nations and Regions are in fact continuing to provide high-quality local, regional and network programmes and services that are valued by audiences throughout the UK.

Ìý

But it is increasingly important that, as the other broadcasters change their regional offer, the Â鶹Éç continues to help connect licence fee payers to their communities and contribute to their sense of belonging, and we can use new technology to provide services on a far more local basis than at present.

Ìý

So that's a flavour of the Â鶹Éç's performance over the last year, based on what you have told us.

Ìý

Judgements about how well - or less well - the Â鶹Éç is delivering are going to be based more and more on what licence fee payers tell us.

Ìý

Tonight's event, and future events like this throughout the nations and regions will, I hope, demonstrate how seriously your board takes its responsibilities to understand the concerns of you, the licence fee payers.

Ìý

In just a moment you can put your comments and questions to us - but first we'd like to share with you some views from licence fee payers across the UK.

Ìý

Thank you.