BBC puts £2m more into radio as TV spend falls

The BBC boosted its overall radio spend by £2 million during the 2011-2012 financial year from £638.1 million to £640.1 million.

In a notable increase, perhaps connected to the broadcaster’s increasing focus on transforming BBC Radio 1 by attracting a younger audience, expenditure on the station saw the biggest increase – of £2.5 million.

BBC Radio 5live and BBC Radio 4 saw their spending cut by the corporation by £3.5 million and £4.8 million respectively.

Despite this, 5live and Radio 4 remain the BBC’s two most expensive stations at £69.3 million and £115.9 million. Outlay on the BBC’s 40 local radio stations dropped by just under £1 million, from £147.3 million to £146.5 million.

Tim Davie, BBC director of audio and music said: “We are building value by investing in distinctive, high-quality and ambitious programming.”

While radio spend increased, expenditure on BBC television dipped by £37.1 million to a total of £2.3 billion during the 2011-2012 financial year.

The full BBC financial report can be found here.