Size matters, again

Sir Michael Lyons, in his open letter to licence-fee payers, is joining in the Autumn term debate - what is the right size for the BBC ?

I'm never sure it's sensible to join that debate; but Sir Michael is also on dangerous ground with other parts of his strategy. A MORI survey asked viewers what should be done with licence fee income not used for Digital Switchover. Around half of those asked would prefer the licence cut by £5.50, compared to just six percent who wanted additional money to be spent on regional news on other channels. Tories like Jeremy Hunt can easily take that "either/or" element out of the equation, and say viewers want to pay less in a world where there's so much else to chosose from.

On the size debate, is the BBC measured by headcount, wage bill, number of channels, hours of output, size of buildings, clusters of software developers, stretch limos of talent ? Governments like headcount reductions best, but Sir Michael and the Trust want the BBC Executive to produce the answer to life and everything before too long.....

"... we ... acknowledge that as digital change accelerates, so the need to reshape the BBC on behalf of the public becomes more pressing. That’s why, before the summer break, the Trust agreed with the Director General that he should conduct a thorough review of what the BBC should concentrate on in the future. In particular we want this to consider whether the BBC is the right size and is operating within the right boundaries, what its role should be in a fully digital world, how it can support the wider industry and UK economy, and how it can provide more of the genuinely fresh and new programmes that audiences want".

Quite a piece of homework.