BBC.co.uk Overspent By $71 Million, ‘Ineffective’ Bosses Must Change, Investment Frozen
By Robert Andrews - Thu 29 May 2008 03:45 AM PST
BBC.co.uk overspent by 48 percent in 2007/08 because management is “not sufficiently strong” and “financial oversight has not been sufficiently effective”, according to the BBC Trust’s review in to the service, which demands an overhaul of the top team by December and has ordered online investment be frozen until then.
The review said 2007/08 BBC.co.uk expenditure, which excludes iPlayer and streaming media, ”at £110million ($70.92 million), is much higher than the upper level of spend permitted in its Service Licence of £81.6 million” ($160.7 million), which includes a 10 percent overspend buffer on the actual budget of £74.2 million ($146.1 million). And it screamed that “the true level of spending on the service has only become known as a result of this review”: “This lack of financial accountability is not acceptable.”
-- ‘More robust management’ needed: In scathing criticism, the trust primarily blamed the BBC’s 2007 restructure, which split BBC New Media across four units, leading to “misallocation between cost centres”. It noted “weaknesses in both the service’s strategic and editorial oversight which need to be addressed” and said “there need to be improvements in (management) control of BBC.co.uk, alongside clear procedures for ensuring oversight by the trust”. So it’s demanded a new management system be implemented within six months. The new-look leadership will then be reviewed after a year in post. This complicates finding a successor to outgoing Ashley Highfield because it may kill off the department he’s leaving.
-- ‘Caution’ on investment: In light of overspend and managerial concerns, the trust will now effectively withhold a planned big spending hike that was due to kick off with a £39 million ($76.3 million) top-up to BBC.co.uk’s 2008/09 budget: “We will not approve the proposed new investment in BBC.co.uk until we are satisfied with management’s proposals for improved management and control of the service and have subjected them to greater scrutiny.” This kicks those hyperlocal plans into the long grass.
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