ITV chief executive, Richard Eyre, is extolling the virtues of publicly-funded, public service broadcasting. He claims that the BBC is in danger of diluting its public service ethos, and that the Corporation should not be allowed to abandon its ‘high ground’ in pursuit of commercial competitiveness.
Eyre has given a 20 page report to Chris Smith, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, detailing his recommendations for the future of the BBC. The report questions the accounting transparency and separation between the BBC’s commercial and public service operations. This comes only days before the BBC is to publish its Annual Report and Accounts in a new, more ‘transparent’ format following such criticisms.
Eyre says that it is essential that the BBC continues to offer both popular and minority programming. “The BBC should retain its universality of appeal, and should continue to broadcast mainstream popular programmes. However, it must also provide programmes that the market fails to provide and make them accessible to viewers at times in the schedule when the majority of viewers are watching.”
He also claims that an analysis of two weeks’ output of BBC1 and BBC2, compared with Central and Yorkshire television, showed that the BBC was lagging behind the ITV companies in providing ‘key public service programme genres.’
The report also recommends that the BBC should be regulated by the Independent Television Commission along with the commercial broadcasters. There is concern that the Corporation’s self-regulation, via the Board of Governors, allows it to abuse its position.
Eyre concludes by saying: “In the multi-channel digital age, ITV believes that it is critical that the BBC uses the privilege of public funding to maintain the highest possible standards in public service broadcasting and commercial practice. Without this committment, the future diversity of British broadcasting is placed in serious doubt.”
The BBC releases its Annual Report and Accounts next week.
ITV Network Centre: 0171 843 8204 BBC Television Centre: 0181 743 8000
