Thursday 12 May 2016 5:14 pm

BBC white paper: Government stops short of “castrating” corporation – but raises independence concerns and opportunities for commercial rivals

The government stopped short of “castrating” the BBC today, in the words of one media analyst.

But John Whittingdale's white paper setting out the corporation's future has raised concerns over independence.

It has also created opportunities for the BBC's commercial rivals.

Independence concerns

Under the white paper, the BBC Trust is to be abolished and replaced with a unitary board, with regulation passed on to Ofcom.

At least 50 per cent of the board will be appointed by the BBC itself, the white paper said, with the government having power to appoint the rest.

This has raised concerns about government involvement in the BBC.

Wolf Hall director Peter Kosminsky told BBC News. “If word gets out that the BBC’s editorial board has six government nominees on it you can kiss goodbye to any sense of the BBC being an independent broadcaster.”

Steven Barnett, professor of communications at the University of Westminster, said: "To allow government ministers to appoint up to half of the BBC's unitary board, which will be making vital strategic and editorial decisions, is wholly inappropriate for an independent public broadcaster."

Local newspaper boost

The News Media Association, a body representing the regional newspaper industry, today celebrated a pledge by the BBC to fund 150 new reporters, with the details set out in the white paper.

From 2017, local newspaper companies are to be provided with the reporters at the cost of £8m a year to the BBC.

Ashley Highfield, chairman of the NMA and chief executive of regional newspaper group Johnston Press, said: “We believe this will strengthen and enhance local journalism, and the crucial role it has in holding local authorities to account, while maintaining the healthy competition between different news sources which is so important in a democracy."

Outsourcing programme production

The government has also proposed that all BBC programming outside of news and current affairs be put out to tender, in a boost to independent production companies.

Currently, 50 per cent of BBC programming must be made in-house, 25 per cent must be from independent companies and the other 25 per cent is put out to tender.

Speaking to Morning Wire earlier this week, ITN chief executive John Hardie called for the white paper changes to go further, enabling outside production companies to apply to make news programmes such as Newsnight.

He was also concerned BBC Studios – a proposed new commercial production arm – should not be given an advantage when applying to create programming.

Hardie said today: "Following publication of today’s white paper, we welcome the proposed removal of in-house guarantees for television content spend for children’s, sport and non-news related current affairs.

"This could provide real opportunities across the independent production sector and we look forward to hearing more detail."

"Broadcaster of distinction"

Included in the white paper was the assertion that the BBC should be a "broadcaster of distinction".

Alice Enders, head of research at Enders Analysis, told Morning Wire that this should be seen as a positive for rivals such as ITV.

"That's clearly a signal to the BBC that it has to work harder than it has perhaps in the past to really provide programming that meets some notion of public service," she said.

"I think it can be seen as positive for ITV."

Peel Hunt media analyst Alex De Groote agreed, telling Morning Wire it could lead to a BBC exit from "expensive shiny floor shows".

"I think probably going forward the overall result of this will be that ITV and the commercial sector will continue to strengthen their share of viewing," he said.

"The BBC has had a shot across the bows and I think probably they will have to be a lot more careful about budgets, what they spend on content, what their role is."

But De Groote noted that the changes introduced on the non-governance side of the BBC were "less draconian than anticipated".

He said: "I think a lot of the narrative in the last few months has been quite confrontational at times. And ideological. This feels more pragmatic, and less ideological and less confrontational."

De Groote added: "The BBC overreached, was spending too much money, got into some crazy projects and was behaving like a commercial broadcaster, without any of the constraints of a commercial broadcaster. I.e. it was treating the licence fee as a right rather than a gift.

"It had a bloody nose, it's reformed, it continues to reform, it will never be as big again, certain aspects of the overreach are going to be curtailed, like BBC Three obviously, maybe some of the radio channels.

"But it looks as though this white paper stops short of really castrating them."