BBC Director General Mark Thompson delivers James MacTaggart Memorial Lecture

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MY COMMENT IS TO THE DIRECTOR GENERAL Of BBC-Mark Thompson

(plus send copy to David Cameron)



Why dont BBC make money by charging overseas subscribers for on-line access to BBC tv. I for one ( and there are many like me would be happy to pay ( I'd even pay for the bbc radio I get free online at present).



GO FOR IT BBC!!!

you have the best tv and radio worldwide!!

Get ahead of the game!!



and f... bloody murdoch!!!!!!!



Ken Alexander

To Ken #2



From the speech in full transcript:



"At the BBC, we want to rise to the challenge. Within a year we aim to launch an international commercial version of the iPlayer. Subject to Trust approval, we also want to find a way of letting UK licence payers and servicemen and servicewomen use a version of the UK BBC iPlayer wherever they are in the world."

Cutting inflated presenter salaries is not a big issue. The BBC need only look at recent changes to the One Show. Childs and Bleakney are good presenters but very overrated judging by the absurd salaries that the BBC reportedly paid them. The replacements may be paid less but the quality of the programme is just as good as ever, so what is the big deal? Has Ross been missed? No. Would Lineker be missed ? No. Presenters are not that difficult to find. its a shame that its taken the BBC until now to realise this.



As to Executive pay, the revelations on the BBC website are shameful. How many HR directors does an organisation of that size need, all earning Prime Ministerial salaries.



And then there is the scandalous number of people it sends to outside broadcast events at major sporting events.



Thompson may be acting now but why has it taken so long?

Cutting presenter salaries is not the only issue the BBC needs to tackle, whilst the "I will give up a months salary" move from some senior managers seems most welcome the real problem is the number of managers (and thus departments) within the BBC, there are now many areas were the BBC should not be present. The BBC needs to (and if it won't do so voluntarily, should be made to, if needs-be by the slashing of the TVL fee [1]) slim down to a core presence, beyond Public Service Broadcasting the domestic UK audience doesn't need the BBC to compete with commercial and pay TV unless the BBC does the job better, that means putting quality above quantity [2], at the moment all broadcasters appear to be in a race to reach rock-bottom first...



[1] each department should have to publish a cost benefit study, in effect make the case for continued funding



[2] this would hopefully encourage the commercial and pay TV sectors to also 'up their game'

4. At 9:05pm on 28 Aug 2010, MaxWax wrote:



"As to Executive pay, the revelations on the BBC website are shameful. How many HR directors does an organisation of that size need..//.."



Actually, all the while the BBC has a top heavy pyramid management structure then it will also need a large HR department, HR being a support extension of management.