Newsnight - Printable Version
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RE: Newsnight - Stockland Hillman - 14-10-2023
(14-10-2023, 02:13 PM)thePineapple Wrote: The BBC has 30% less money than it did in 2013, according to the Guardian. This licence fee freeze forces them to make cuts of £285mn/yr.With the best intentions you have, you've still fallen into the trap that has enabled BBC management to decimate some services.
For context, the entire news and current affairs budget in 2022 was £342mn.
So, if the BBC cut its whole news division 3.5 times over in the next 5 years, it still wouldn't save enough money.
They've already cut BBC Parliament, a plethora of language services, and a news channel. They've cut BBC Two to the bone. They plan to cut BBC Four and CBBC.
There has been mismanagement, but is it 3.5x-the-news-budget mismanagement? I doubt it.
The National audit office report is quite revealing, as it uses logical cost allocation of function rather than the BBCs internal allocations
National Audit Office
https://www.nao.org.uk › de...PDF
The BBC Group Departmental Overview 2021-22
If links not working search BBC Group Departmental Overview 2021
As you can see vast areas of back office, distribution and general costs dwarf the News budget - thats perceived as the biggest BBC expenditure unit.
My point is stop looking at where the v
huge BBC management PR operation tell you - who feed tame reporter's at publications with an agenda - and look at the whole picture.
Technology and lower production costs matched with lower audinces to 'filler shows' could mean significant savings. The cost per viewer of a Channel 5 early prime time show is substantially lower than BBC 2, let alone the bloated BBC 1 cost per content hour.
Analysts have found IRO £.5 billion by matching programme and management costs to UK and European major broadcaster averages; £110m more on distribution overspend/duplication (all per year)
As an outsider to the BBC, but within the industry, its not hard to independently see for myself - using publicly available commissioning rates - that Analysis is very plausible.
Hence my view: Stop enabling the BBC management's misleading narrative, please.
RE: Newsnight - thePineapple - 14-10-2023
(14-10-2023, 02:52 PM)Stockland Hillman Wrote: With the best intentions you have, you've still fallen into the trap that has enabled BBC management to decimate some services.
The National audit office report is quite revealing, as it uses logical cost allocation of function rather than the BBCs internal allocations
National Audit Office
https://www.nao.org.uk › de...PDF
The BBC Group Departmental Overview 2021-22
That is an interesting document, and they seem like plausible points - though I can't lie I feel slightly out of my depth when it comes to these statistics... Would be keen to know why you (and others) think things like distribution costs and cost/viewer are so high. And what can be done to bring them down?
(Appreciate we've gone a bit off topic)
RE: Newsnight - DTV - 14-10-2023
(14-10-2023, 02:13 PM)thePineapple Wrote: The BBC has 30% less money than it did in 2013, according to the Guardian. This licence fee freeze forces them to make cuts of £285mn/yr.That seems very low for the entire News budget, TV NCA expenditure alone was £314m. World Service accounts for a further £340m and it's got to be a significant portion of the Radio and Online budgets too.
For context, the entire news and current affairs budget in 2022 was £342mn.
RE: Newsnight - Stockland Hillman - 14-10-2023
(14-10-2023, 03:24 PM)thePineapple Wrote: That is an interesting document, and they seem like plausible points - though I can't lie I feel slightly out of my depth when it comes to these statistics... Would be keen to know why you (and others) think things like distribution costs and cost/viewer are so high. And what can be done to bring them down?
(Appreciate we've gone a bit off topic)
Taking the time to look at facts, and ask questions is always a very good thing, and exploring if you don't understand everything.
TV channels historically commissioned based on day part and the channels has a target for costs per hour, so daytime is cheaper than primetime, and peak highest spend. Different genres has different costs as well, so that was a factor.
Problem in 2023, is a show in early peak (630-9pm) gets a fraction of views compared to 15 years ago. The netflix/OD effect
TV costs less to make these days, as equipment from cameras to edit have moved from highly specialised to mass market hardware and software. Easier to mutiskill, and easier to reversion and share content. So in theory you can do more for less.
The things that cost money are people intensive, long research time items like investigative journalism (newsnight) so effectively it's only PSB Broadcasting that can support these costs.
Let's look a the 'cut to the bone' BBC. A 7 minute VT insert on morning live is out for commissioning at £11,000 per feature. That's more of less the same as the per HOUR fee channel 5 pay for the non Jermey Vine talk segments of the morning sequence.
Source:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/commissioning/morning-live-vt-opportunity-october-2023/
That's a very very simplified view of what happens on every show, every platform/channel.
There are huge savings to be made, but the BBC won't use neutral benchmarks for these decisions [as shown to the court in the Samira Ahmed/Jermey Vine pay comparison case]
RE: Newsnight - Former Member 237 - 14-10-2023
It's important to accept the fact that BBC News are paying multiple people to do the same thing in some areas. Having multiple people turn up, to film, then edit, then broadcast from the same thing is pure madness, even if it takes a region specific viewpoint etc, it cannot be justified in the current environment.
I'm surprised News night is still going to be honest. The plug should be pulled and the remaining budget diverted into the main channel for a shorter UK similar type but stripped back show. You have news at ten, or the main channel, then News night, often covering the same things. Why? can the BBC News journalists not investigate the same way? In 2023 no, this does not need to be happening. There is no conspiracy, it is simply common sense.
RE: Newsnight - Former Member 237 - 14-10-2023
(14-10-2023, 05:37 PM)Former Member 237 Wrote: It's important to accept the fact that BBC News are paying multiple people to do the same thing in some areas. Having multiple people turn up, to film, then edit, then broadcast from the same thing is pure madness, even if it takes a region specific viewpoint etc, it cannot be justified in the current environment.
I'm surprised News night is still going to be honest. The plug should be pulled and the remaining budget diverted into the main channel for a shorter UK similar type but stripped back show. You have news at ten, or the main channel, then News night, often covering the same things. Why? can the BBC News journalists not investigate the same way? In 2023 no, this does not need to be happening. There is no conspiracy, it is simply common sense.
I don't want to just pick on News night thinking about it, the same could apply to other shows which involve news but are not the main channel. There are a couple of other shows I can think of which would fall into the same category. But of course it depends how much they cost.
RE: Newsnight - Omnipresent - 14-10-2023
I don't think anyone would deny there was massive internal duplication at BBC News as well internecine rivalry where staff saw other BBC programmes as their main rivals, rather than ITV, Sky etc. I recall Eddie Mair writing about the lengths the team on PM would go to keep the running order hidden from other staff members.
One thing I don't see making sense is why national BBC News has its own correspondents for the Midlands, Wales etc when regional reporters could provide reports / two ways when needed.
In the case of Newsnight it is already doing joint investigations with other BBC programmes, like Newsbeat. Newsnight presenters also work across other programmes - Nick Watt occasionally presents The Westminster Hour for example.
The absolute last thing BBC News needs is another panel of pundits format.
RE: Newsnight - Brekkie - 14-10-2023
(14-10-2023, 05:37 PM)Former Member 237 Wrote: It's important to accept the fact that BBC News are paying multiple people to do the same thing in some areas. Having multiple people turn up, to film, then edit, then broadcast from the same thing is pure madness, even if it takes a region specific viewpoint etc, it cannot be justified in the current environment.
I'm surprised News night is still going to be honest. The plug should be pulled and the remaining budget diverted into the main channel for a shorter UK similar type but stripped back show. You have news at ten, or the main channel, then News night, often covering the same things. Why? can the BBC News journalists not investigate the same way? In 2023 no, this does not need to be happening. There is no conspiracy, it is simply common sense.
Newsnight though is the one area doing something different to the news channel and BBC1 bulletins though. This move means they'll basically be doing the same as other areas of the BBC. That is not value for money. There is no way at all this can be framed as a decision that benefits the licence fee payer.
RE: Newsnight - Former Member 237 - 14-10-2023
(14-10-2023, 06:16 PM)Brekkie Wrote: Newsnight though is the one area doing something different to the news channel and BBC1 bulletins though. This move means they'll basically be doing the same as other areas of the BBC. That is not value for money. There is no way at all this can be framed as a decision that benefits the licence fee payer.
It depends what is seen as value. A show that goes out close to the grave yard hour watched by 500k is not that valuable. The better value would be to use the skills on other areas of the bbc and cut out the waste in my mind. Not to mention the viewing figures have dived since JP left so it doesn’t need to be framed. It’s realistic for these changes to take place to ensure value for the payers.
RE: Newsnight - Kim Wexler’s Ponytail - 14-10-2023
it’s incredibly easy to make hundreds of millions of pounds worth of cuts if you’re not the person who actually has do it. If you insist it’s all mismanagement and your superior expert handling of the situation could save Newsnight, local radio and the news channel you’re going to have to be way more specific than just throwing out general whataboutisms. Because at the minute you sound like boomers, with their good old fashioned British common, sense telling lazy snowflake millennials they could in fact afford a house if they gave up Netflix and Starbucks.