Jump to content
Unofficial Mills

BBC 'failed to show value for money on big events'


Jono

Recommended Posts

A National Audit Office (NAO) report has called on the BBC to improve the way it commissions coverage of music and sporting events to ensure it always gets value for money.

Published today by the BBC Trust, the NAO's independent report found that the majority of major events on the BBC during 2008/9 were well managed, but there is still room for improvement going forward.

In its consultation, the NAO examined BBC coverage of six events - The Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, the 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, the 2008 Wimbledon Championships, the BBC Proms 2008, Glastonbury 2008 and Radio 1's Big Weekend 2008.

The report found that five of the six events finished under budget or within 1% of their budget, although Radio 1's Big Weekend came in 5% over at £888,000.

In 2008/9, the BBC spent £246 million on acquiring rights to sporting and music events, followed by £111 million on production and broadcasting of those events for TV, radio and online platforms.

In a survey, the NOA discovered that 71% of the public awarded the BBC eight out of ten or higher for its coverage of the Euro 2008 tournament, compared to just 44% for ITV.

However, the report criticised the way the BBC commissions coverage of major events, which often goes ahead without properly working out the cost-benefit ratio of a wider variety of options.

The NAO claimed that the BBC often limits its ability to make "informed judgements" about the effective use of funds, which in turn makes it difficult to assess whether value for money has actually been secured.

The report also criticised the BBC for not having a clear view of its total events budget, with separate budgets being drawn up for each media platform. It further criticised the way that costs of using top talent for the events were often buried in long-term contracts rather than a total cost overview.

A lack of BBC internal benchmarking for cost comparison was further pegged as an issue, with the NAO calling for proper identification of suitable events for comparison and then regular reviews to be conducted.

In response, the Trust found that the majority of NAO recommendations have already been implemented by the BBC. However, BBC management must now provide a firm action plan to address all the remaining issues.

"While covering high-profile sports and music events is a core part of the BBC's job - and, as this report notes, the BBC's work in this area is valued by millions of listeners and viewers - the Trust is emphatic that value for money must be delivered in this area, as is essential across the BBC," said BBC Trustee Jeremy Peat.

"The report finds that the BBC has succeeded in coming in very close to or under budget for all but one of the major events considered. But it is also clear that there are areas for improvement, particularly with regard to approval and post-event review processes.

"The Trust notes that the Executive has already implemented many of the NAO's recommendations, but there is still more to do and we will review progress on a regular basis in the context of the action plan that we have asked the Executive to produce."

Amyas Morse, head of the National Audit Office, added: "Given the current economic conditions, the BBC has not done enough to demonstrate that its coverage provides the best possible value for money.

"When the BBC decides that it wants to cover a major sporting or music event, it should carefully explore a range of options, and set down clear objectives against which it can measure its achievements after the event. Without that, the BBC will not convince licence fee payers that their money has been well spent."

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/broadcasting/news/a199954/bbc-told-to-get-value-from-major-events.html

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think the BBC should spend this money and make events like Big Weekend.

But I do think they should aim to get more value out of them by making more of the TV Coverage. I remember when Capital Radio's Party in the Park use to takeover Channel 4 all day. Could they not put on some decent live coverage on BBC2 as opposed to the very brief highlights package on BBC Three?

I love Viv.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think the BBC has best coveraged of most events. I hate how ITV do the F.A Cup, the replays only manage ITV 4.

But i do think that the Big Weekend could have been on the telly more, they advertised it loads (i only remember that because my friend was on the ad) but it was just on late at night :(

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Posts

    • It’s not necessarily the fact that Jamie is posh. It’s that the show seems to be really keen to play on it. Within 10 minutes of their first show they were playing voice notes from his Celeb mates. Compare that to Vick and Jordan’s first week in September 2021; their first links were about Jordan’s awkward encounter with his plumber and Vick slapping a roast chicken.    And then on Monday this week, Jamie is sulking (exaggerated sulking admittedly) about something, this ultimately being that another of his celeb mates has cancelled his appearance on their show, and they’re literally reading out texts such as ‘I’m sure this is going to be relatable to the entire population.’
    • That’s a last minute change!
    • Jordan, Greg, they’re down to earth. That’s what makes them resonate so much with listeners.  
    • It's a bizarre thing though....it would be nice to hear a few more tracks from the past 10 years mixed into daytime. However, at the other extreme, I find it odd how often really old tracks come up on Anthems and even the likes of Soundsystem Party and Dance Anthems.   The odd throwback is great but sometimes it feels too much.
    • I do like Cat Burns but it’s a good point about the many artists on future artists and other specialist shows. If they manage to launch the ‘Anthems’ like sister station hope they make changes to the stations playlist.
    • Some shows do play some songs from pre-2018 regularly. Mainly Matt & Mollie and Radio 1 Breakfast. Also don't forget the shortened Anne-Marie - Ciao Adios which gets played every 26 seconds. 😂
    • I hate reverse snobbery and I post this reluctantly as we shouldn't hold Jamie's background against him, but I do think many listeners will find it hard to identify with Jamie.  One of the things that made Jordan so popular was he sounded like the mate you go for a pint with who always has a great story to tell.
    • Absolutely - life would be dull if we all liked the same things  
    • Dean in for Greg on Tuesday.
    • While it maybe doesn't the power it once has (where being on the A-List was a big deal), It's a big part of the station and I felt probably deserves it's own thread. Have to be honest I haven't been hugely enamored with the playlist in recent times. Radio 1 seem quite heavily wedded to it in weekdays (at least Monday-Thursday) which can lead to the station being repetitive if you listen throughout the day. Even a station like Capital who are known for their limited playlist seem to throw in some older tracks and artists ever so often whereas if it's not Something Songs, 10 Minute Takeover or Anthems you often struggle to hear a song from before 2018. The repetitive nature has been a thing for a while though to be fair - I recall early 2021 in particular it felt like Tiesto's 'The Business' and Olivia Rodrigo's 'Drivers Licence' were played every other hour. Also certain Radio 1 favourites seem almost guaranteed a slot on the playlist even if they don't actually appear to be wildly popular with the target audience to justify it. I get it with your Dua Lipas, Calvin Harrises, Fred Agains  and Olivia Rodrigos as they're all very popular but less so if it's say Cat Burns, Aitch, Royal Blood or Mabel. Which is fine to an extent as Radio 1 has often focussed on promoting new music but then you have great music by other new artists that just never makes it to the playlist as a result.
    • Yep I really struggled with Matt & Jamie which was a shame as otherwise really like Matt. Unfortunately it comes across on-air whether it's actually try or not that Jamie doesn't know a lot about radio and doesn't seem particularly desperate to improve either or if I'm being generous he's playing an act - neither of which particularly appeals. The everyman act can sometimes work but you need to have that natural likability and appeal for it to do so in the way that way Chris Stark did. I mean even towards the end of his stint with Matt Jamie was struggling with getting the Whatsapp number right which is a basic.
    • Have to say even if there is a good reason for Jamie to be off on Thursdays the optics of them a month in still not be able to do a 'normal week' of the scheduled team for a brand new show isn't great. And if Jamie was meant to be away on Thursdays clearly nobody let whoever runs BBC Sounds know. Who would've guessed from the Vick & Jordan days though that it would be Vick who's the everpresent so far (just kidding Vick - really rate her as a DJ and I know she has a lot of other engagements outside of Radio 1).
    • Sorry explain what you mean there please? Danny is unlistenable?? 
    • I dunno if it is me but even Vick and Katie don't sound as good in that slot alone as they did before. Maybe I have just fallen out of love with it all.
×
×
  • Create New...