BBC drags heels as young viewers switch off
THE BBC is too complacent about its future and has no central strategy to tackle the decline in young audiences, a review of its finances has found.
The number of under-35s turning away from the broadcaster poses a financial risk because they are less likely to pay the licence fee, the National Audit Office said, leading to “uncertainty over the BBC’S financial future”.
Yet the public spending watchdog found that the BBC has been slow in its response to the decline.
The NAO also expressed concern that the broadcaster had done no cost analysis on how it would manage if the licence fee were reduced or abolished, even though negotiations with Government are under way that could result in the charge being frozen from 2022.
The BBC has made significant cost savings in recent years, the NAO said, but it also found that management had delayed the most challenging part of the savings programme – making staff in news and regional programming redun- dant – because they feared the cuts would be unpopular with staff.
It said the corporation regularly went over budget on projects, including the construction of a new Eastenders set (£25million over budget) and the cost of implementing the over-75s licence fee plan (the estimate has risen from £44million to £65million). At the same time, the number of households buying a television licence fell by 450,000 between 2017 and 2020, partly as audiences moved to streaming services.
Commenting on the report, Meg Hillier, chairman of the public accounts committee, said: “Each year, people are spending less time watching the BBC, fewer households are paying the licence fee and it’s been stuck with the bill for giving the poorest pensioners a free TV licence. However, it shied away from making tough decisions for too long and has underestimated the cost of major projects.
“Competing with its new online rivals and their deeper pockets won’t be cheap or easy. And it is much too complacent about risks that could materialise as soon as next year.”
The NAO report stated that the BBC’S share of younger audiences was “under pressure”. “According to the directorgeneral, the BBC has been slow to change when it felt it was not essential. This matches our experience in certain areas, such as addressing the decline in viewing by younger audiences, where there is still no central strategy for tackling this problem,” the watchdog said.
Responding to the report, the BBC said: “As the NAO has set out, we have made significant savings and increased efficiencies while maintaining our spending on content, and continuing to be the UK’S most-used media organisation.”