BBC Trust chairman Rona Fairhead will step down when a unitary board replaces the BBC Trust, after being informed by the government that she would have to re-apply for her job. In a statement, Fairhead said that she had been “strongly encouraged” by new UK prime minister Theresa May to take part in a new […]
The BBC Trust has cleared UK subscription-free satellite TV service, Freesat, to offer live pay sports services over broadband. Freesat said the decision would help “ongoing conversations with content providers”, with managing director Alistair Thom describing it as a “really important development for Freesat”. “We’re here to provide a compelling subscription-free TV service, and believe […]
The BBC’s governing body, the BBC Trust, has “lost confidence and credibility and should be abolished,” according to the Culture, Media and Sport Committee’s report on the BBC Charter review. Published today, the report claims that while the BBC is an “extraordinary national and global institution” it needs a “radical overhaul of its governance arrangements.” […]
The BBC’s governing body has called for a “proper process” for setting the BBC’s funding to be included for the first time in the new BBC Charter. The BBC Trust said that to protect the BBC’s independence the public should have “a formal say” in setting the BBC’s funding in the future, and that the […]
The BBC’s plans for its future are “mostly welcomed” by the public, though questions remain about the funding, accessibility and impact new services, according to the BBC Trust. Reporting the findings of a public consultation on the BBC’s proposals for an “open BBC for the internet age”, the BBC’s governing body said that the majority […]
The BBC Trust has approved plans to close down BBC Three as a broadcast channel and move it online, with closure to be phased in over the first two months of next year, and has set out a number of conditions to ensure that younger audiences continue to be well-served. There will be a phased […]
The BBC Trust has welcomed plans by the government to fund an extension of the BBC’s World Service with additional spending. As part of its ‘National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015’, published yesterday, the government said it will invest “£85 million each year by 2017/18 in the BBC’s digital, TV and […]
There is “no clear evidence” that BBC entertainment, news and online content “crowd out” commercial broadcasters or local newspapers, according to research commissioned by the corporation. The report, conducted by KPMG for the BBC Trust, said that there was no firm evidence linking the BBC’s activity with patterns of increasing or decreasing consumption of entertainment […]
The BBC Trust has defended its right to remain a “universal public service broadcaster” and opposed the potential sale of its commercial arm BBC Worldwide or future ‘top-slicing’ of the licence fee. In its formal response to the UK Government’s Green Paper consultation on the BBC’s Charter Review, the BBC’s governing body claimed that, at […]
UK government launches review of BBC governanceThe UK government has appointed former Virgin Money and Prudential chairman and former Bank of England deputy governor Sir David Clementi to head up an independent review into how the BBC is governed and regulated. The review will form part of the ongoing BBC Charter renewal process. Clementi has […]
