The licence fee started paying for the World Service on 1st April 2014. On 4th April 2014 we finally got the "rules" on alternative funding that will supplement its income. I've lifted them in full, because they may become important in discussions about sponsorship and ads in domestic output in the future. The BBC Trust is to be the "policeman"; if this commercial income is deemed not to taint the BBC's reputation abroad, why should it damage Auntie at home ?
14. The BBC may include paid-for advertising in services provided by the World
Service which are not targeted at audiences in the UK; such advertising must
comply with the BBC’s Advertising and Sponsorship Guidelines for BBC
Commercial Services, and must take account of the likely expectations of target
audiences, regulatory requirements and local market norms in the relevant
territory.
15. The BBC may include sponsored content on the World Service.
Sponsored
content may be—
(a) sponsored content commissioned or acquired by the World Service (i.e.
the sponsor may provide funding to the World Service directly);
(b) sponsored content that has been broadcast previously on other services
provided by the BBC or BBC companies;
(c) sponsored content funded via the charity BBC Media Action16 (i.e. the
sponsor may provide funding to BBC Media Action which then provides
the content to the World Service).
16. Current affairs content may be not be financed by external funders, except that
the BBC may include for broadcast on the World Service democratic governance
content financed by external funders, including content dealing with current
affairs, provided that it is consistent with the policy on appropriate funders set
out in the Editorial Guidelines for BBC World Service Group on External
Relationships and Funding.
17. The BBC may include in the World Service other externally funded content which
is not sponsored content such as is permitted by paragraph 15 but which is
either—
(a) funded by BBC Media Action, provided that any relevant external funding
provided to Media Action for the purpose by external funders has been
approved in accordance with the applicable compliance procedures in
accordance with BBC Media Action’s constitution, or
(b) externally funded by other appropriate external funders, provided that it is
consistent with the policy on appropriate funders set out in the Editorial
Guidelines for BBC World Service Group on External Relationships and
Funding.
18. In order to comply with state aid rules, the BBC Trust must keep under review
the total amount received by the BBC and its subsidiaries by way of alternative
finance, and ensure that it does not exceed an amount appearing to the Trust to
be proportionate to the cost of fulfilling the public service remit of the World
Service, having regard to the licence fee funding also available to the World
Service.
Showing posts with label finance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label finance. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 15, 2014
Thursday, March 27, 2014
Officer class
The BBC has a new Director of Finance. He's Ian Haythornthwaite, currently billed as CFO BBC North and Future Media.
In the new, meaner, tighter, McKinsey structure, Ian reports to Anne Bulford, whose post was initially stated as created to combine COO and CFO roles, following the departures of Caroline Thomson and Zarin Patel. His new job, advertised as CFO, has now been renamed Director of Finance. But undoubtedly there will still be interest in where Mr H's new package is pitched - on a scale between his current £171k, Zarin Patel's old £337k and Anne Bulford's £395k.
There will also be some interest in where Ian will be based. Home is Preston, and his train, hotel and car parking expenses seem to have grown as he has acquired new responsibilities.
In the new, meaner, tighter, McKinsey structure, Ian reports to Anne Bulford, whose post was initially stated as created to combine COO and CFO roles, following the departures of Caroline Thomson and Zarin Patel. His new job, advertised as CFO, has now been renamed Director of Finance. But undoubtedly there will still be interest in where Mr H's new package is pitched - on a scale between his current £171k, Zarin Patel's old £337k and Anne Bulford's £395k.There will also be some interest in where Ian will be based. Home is Preston, and his train, hotel and car parking expenses seem to have grown as he has acquired new responsibilities.
Thursday, March 6, 2014
Re-calc
It's all getting a bit casual with figures. Danny Cohen, Director of Television, has just told Richard Bacon on 5Live that BBC3's spend on "origination" will fall from £53m to £30m when it moves online in Autumn 2015. That looks like a saving of £23m, not £50m. £30m content spend is higher than the figure of £25m in the press release.
And, said Danny, the alternative to the BBC3 plan was cutting 20 to 25% of other channels budgets. Hold it there. Last year BBC1 spent £1,129.2m on content. To make a saving of £50m (claimed by the BBC3 announcement) you'd have to cut it by 4.4% - and touch nothing else. In the next seven days, I'd happily manage without DIY SOS, Holiday Hit Squad, Holby City, (Mc)Waterloo Road (down to 3.2m last night) and anything with antiques in it, for repeats of Sgt Bilko, Blake's Seven, and the odd Marx Brothers film. Would that be a nosedive in quality ?
And, said Danny, the alternative to the BBC3 plan was cutting 20 to 25% of other channels budgets. Hold it there. Last year BBC1 spent £1,129.2m on content. To make a saving of £50m (claimed by the BBC3 announcement) you'd have to cut it by 4.4% - and touch nothing else. In the next seven days, I'd happily manage without DIY SOS, Holiday Hit Squad, Holby City, (Mc)Waterloo Road (down to 3.2m last night) and anything with antiques in it, for repeats of Sgt Bilko, Blake's Seven, and the odd Marx Brothers film. Would that be a nosedive in quality ?
Sunday, March 2, 2014
More than the PM
The Sunday Times has done some spadework on a BBC Trust minute from December, which read...
Members noted that, while good progress had been made in meeting the target reductions in the senior manager headcount and pay bill, more work was needed in reducing the number of senior managers who earn more than £150,000 pa.
And which we highlighted here a couple of weeks ago.
The Sunday Times claims 82 staff declared on the BBC website are paid more than £150k. Sadly the BBC doesn't keep the pages up to date - by my reckoning there are 74 still in play with packages that break the barrier. The problem is that you can easily be paid more than £150k at the BBC without being on the declared list - even more so since the switch of "talent" to staff jobs, in response to old Ma Hodge and the PAC. And there's other growth, I'm guessing, with some of James Harding's recent signings in News, and Anne Bulford's creation of a Chief Finance Officer, when we thought she was doing the job.
The ST also points out that a number of managers have benefited from pay rises, particularly in November 2013, when there's supposed to be a freeze. The BBC argues that extra pay is only given for additional responsibilities; why not declare them, in the rubric that goes with each management page ?
My trawl did reveal one oddity. Director of Radio Helen Boaden's total package appears to be bigger than the DG's. I know it was her birthday recently, but really...?
Members noted that, while good progress had been made in meeting the target reductions in the senior manager headcount and pay bill, more work was needed in reducing the number of senior managers who earn more than £150,000 pa.
And which we highlighted here a couple of weeks ago.
The Sunday Times claims 82 staff declared on the BBC website are paid more than £150k. Sadly the BBC doesn't keep the pages up to date - by my reckoning there are 74 still in play with packages that break the barrier. The problem is that you can easily be paid more than £150k at the BBC without being on the declared list - even more so since the switch of "talent" to staff jobs, in response to old Ma Hodge and the PAC. And there's other growth, I'm guessing, with some of James Harding's recent signings in News, and Anne Bulford's creation of a Chief Finance Officer, when we thought she was doing the job.
The ST also points out that a number of managers have benefited from pay rises, particularly in November 2013, when there's supposed to be a freeze. The BBC argues that extra pay is only given for additional responsibilities; why not declare them, in the rubric that goes with each management page ?
My trawl did reveal one oddity. Director of Radio Helen Boaden's total package appears to be bigger than the DG's. I know it was her birthday recently, but really...?
Saturday, February 15, 2014
Invitation to tender
A number of media reporters claim to have found "secret" tender documents, inviting bids to deliver a new exterior set for EastEnders.
Let's be clear - the documents are not secret - that's how public tendering works. It's just that they don't mention the word EastEnders. They are headed "Project E20" - the postcode given to the fictional Walford. But it's obvious what the job is - and the tender is explicit in its estimate that the construction value is over £15m.
The successful Architect must be able to demonstrate it is able to meet all of the BBC's key requirements, but in particular the following:
1) A proven track record of sourcing specialist products needed for visual replication of the on screen elements, including reclaimed materials for project use, or refurbishment and/or specialist manufacture of individual architectural components. Obtaining samples of all, for testing and end user sign off.
2) Experience of replication, to the highest level, of the “finish & appearance” of weathered and damaged building/structure facades and backdrops for the purposes of television production.
3) Previous relevant experience that demonstrates the ability to advise the project in general and the TV set designers in particular on best practice for the new construction, and on when to use “scenic” design & materials or traditional building materials such as reclaimed and purpose made brick.
4) An understanding of the unique detailing of period buildings in particular, their construction methodology in order to replicate as original and where to source the materials whether antique or replica, to the quality and quantity required. Explain how the ageing process takes place on a TV production lot and the constraints this places on the build programme.
Let's be clear - the documents are not secret - that's how public tendering works. It's just that they don't mention the word EastEnders. They are headed "Project E20" - the postcode given to the fictional Walford. But it's obvious what the job is - and the tender is explicit in its estimate that the construction value is over £15m.
The successful Architect must be able to demonstrate it is able to meet all of the BBC's key requirements, but in particular the following:
1) A proven track record of sourcing specialist products needed for visual replication of the on screen elements, including reclaimed materials for project use, or refurbishment and/or specialist manufacture of individual architectural components. Obtaining samples of all, for testing and end user sign off.
2) Experience of replication, to the highest level, of the “finish & appearance” of weathered and damaged building/structure facades and backdrops for the purposes of television production.
3) Previous relevant experience that demonstrates the ability to advise the project in general and the TV set designers in particular on best practice for the new construction, and on when to use “scenic” design & materials or traditional building materials such as reclaimed and purpose made brick.
4) An understanding of the unique detailing of period buildings in particular, their construction methodology in order to replicate as original and where to source the materials whether antique or replica, to the quality and quantity required. Explain how the ageing process takes place on a TV production lot and the constraints this places on the build programme.
Wednesday, January 29, 2014
Tools
Some bits and bobs from yesterday's NAO report on what went wrong with the BBC's Digital Media Initiative....
184 staff and contractors were working on the project at its peak in July 2011 - that doesn't include consultants. Things were clearly a bit frantic then, cos the project risk status had gone from "Amber" to "Amber/Red" in June - that change of status wasn't reported up to the Executive and Trust Finance committee for more than two months.
When the project first went to "Red", in December 2011, neither the Trust nor the Executive received the report; the second straight "Red", came in March 2012, but wasn't reported to the Executive til June, and the Trust til July. Red meant "successful delivery outcomes appeared to be unachievable, with major issues that did not appear to be manageable or resolvable."
The NAO report says there are three principal "assets" left from the investment - an archive database, which apparently costs £5.3m a year to operate, and which is working alongside a legacy system costing £780k a year to run; some big digital data storage units, which the BBC might use for its "End To End Digital" project (storage of the entire BBC archive will be on a USB stick by the time that works); and a music copyright reporting system, which, as of December 2013, had five users.
John Linwood, the CTO who left Auntie in July last year, says the core of his troubles with the project was that the "business" (television production teams) got cold feet about moving to standardised production tools for the rough assembly of built programmes before fine-editing. Cancelling this fundamental ambition in 2012 (when naughty tv teams knew DG Thommo was going, and had taken his eye off the standardisation prize) meant there could be no organic growth of an archive; Linwood says the digitisation of the BBC's historic archive was never part of DMI scope. His written evidence to the PAC says he's issued legal proceedings against the BBC, and (as of January 23) is still involved in an internal process with the BBC.
The key element of the NAO report, which I expect Ma Hodge to wave at former DG Mark Thompson next week: The executive board applied insufficient scrutiny during 2011 and the first half of 2012. This was, of course, the period when Thommo was buffing up his CV ahead of a new, post-Olympic career outside Auntie, and DMI, along with other more damaging issues, went straight into the "Too Difficult" tray.
184 staff and contractors were working on the project at its peak in July 2011 - that doesn't include consultants. Things were clearly a bit frantic then, cos the project risk status had gone from "Amber" to "Amber/Red" in June - that change of status wasn't reported up to the Executive and Trust Finance committee for more than two months.
When the project first went to "Red", in December 2011, neither the Trust nor the Executive received the report; the second straight "Red", came in March 2012, but wasn't reported to the Executive til June, and the Trust til July. Red meant "successful delivery outcomes appeared to be unachievable, with major issues that did not appear to be manageable or resolvable."
The NAO report says there are three principal "assets" left from the investment - an archive database, which apparently costs £5.3m a year to operate, and which is working alongside a legacy system costing £780k a year to run; some big digital data storage units, which the BBC might use for its "End To End Digital" project (storage of the entire BBC archive will be on a USB stick by the time that works); and a music copyright reporting system, which, as of December 2013, had five users.
John Linwood, the CTO who left Auntie in July last year, says the core of his troubles with the project was that the "business" (television production teams) got cold feet about moving to standardised production tools for the rough assembly of built programmes before fine-editing. Cancelling this fundamental ambition in 2012 (when naughty tv teams knew DG Thommo was going, and had taken his eye off the standardisation prize) meant there could be no organic growth of an archive; Linwood says the digitisation of the BBC's historic archive was never part of DMI scope. His written evidence to the PAC says he's issued legal proceedings against the BBC, and (as of January 23) is still involved in an internal process with the BBC.
The key element of the NAO report, which I expect Ma Hodge to wave at former DG Mark Thompson next week: The executive board applied insufficient scrutiny during 2011 and the first half of 2012. This was, of course, the period when Thommo was buffing up his CV ahead of a new, post-Olympic career outside Auntie, and DMI, along with other more damaging issues, went straight into the "Too Difficult" tray.
Sunday, January 26, 2014
Cuckoo
So, at Tradingaswdr Towers, anticipation builds for the Public Accounts Committee hearing on the BBC's vainglorious Digital Media Initiative, cancelled by Lord Hall at a cost (at the very least) of £100m, but more importantly, cancelled after a range of people over the life of the project told the NAO and the PAC all was tickety-boo.
Ma Hodge is not having that, so has summoned former DG Mark Thompson, former CFO Zarin Patel, former COO Caroline Thomson, former Trustee Anthony Fry - whilst current Director of Operations, dapper Dominic Coles comes in for the cancellation team. Oddly, no-one with digital connections has been called so far - neither begetter Ashley Highfield, continuer Erik Huggers, minder Ralph Rivera, or the last Chief Technology Officer John Linwood.
In a sort of clear the decks move, ahead of the hearing at the start of February, the BBC has revealed that Linwood, suspended in May last year, actually left Auntie's employment in July - but neither side told us. There was "no pay-off", but eggs is eggs Mr Linwood will be looking for something. The Price Waterhouse Cooper report into what went wrong was anodyne, and dealt with process, structures and governance. The NAO's version ought to be a little more racy when it comes - who told half-truths to whom, when and why ? Mr Linwood's current Linkedin CV offers a litany of success stories at the BBC, which, when added up, saved the BBC much more cash in technology innovations than it lost on DMI - his lawyers may move for a tribunal after they've assessed the NAO report.
The hearing creates a busy week for Mark Thompson - February 3 in London, and February 6 back in New York for the fourth quarter and final year profit and loss figures for the New York Times.
Ma Hodge is not having that, so has summoned former DG Mark Thompson, former CFO Zarin Patel, former COO Caroline Thomson, former Trustee Anthony Fry - whilst current Director of Operations, dapper Dominic Coles comes in for the cancellation team. Oddly, no-one with digital connections has been called so far - neither begetter Ashley Highfield, continuer Erik Huggers, minder Ralph Rivera, or the last Chief Technology Officer John Linwood.
In a sort of clear the decks move, ahead of the hearing at the start of February, the BBC has revealed that Linwood, suspended in May last year, actually left Auntie's employment in July - but neither side told us. There was "no pay-off", but eggs is eggs Mr Linwood will be looking for something. The Price Waterhouse Cooper report into what went wrong was anodyne, and dealt with process, structures and governance. The NAO's version ought to be a little more racy when it comes - who told half-truths to whom, when and why ? Mr Linwood's current Linkedin CV offers a litany of success stories at the BBC, which, when added up, saved the BBC much more cash in technology innovations than it lost on DMI - his lawyers may move for a tribunal after they've assessed the NAO report.
The hearing creates a busy week for Mark Thompson - February 3 in London, and February 6 back in New York for the fourth quarter and final year profit and loss figures for the New York Times.
Thursday, January 23, 2014
Upgraded exterior filming resource
See, if, say, Sid Hardball was one of Lord Hall's new no-nonsense non-executives, EastEnders luvvie Dominic Treadwell-Collins would have got nowhere with his new outdoor set strategy.
Sid: Let's be clear - you want a new outdoor set, yet you also want a full-scale temporary set for two years, while you muck about with the one that's served you ok for close to 30 years. What's the problem here ? Isn't the East End supposed to be run down ?
DTC: We need a set that's 20% bigger to enable greater editorial ambition and improve working conditions for staff. Crucially, it will provide a greater sense of scale with more locations for our characters to spend time in, opening up new areas and opportunities that haven’t been possible before – all of which are in the best interest of our viewers.
Sid: And do you have a dossier of complaints from viewers that there aren't enough outdoor scenes ? Was that a "no" ? Have you visited the East End recently ? Have you heard of "urban renewal", maybe seen a few building sites, eh ? Wouldn't a cost-conscious producer like you see the benefit of a few storylines that get the scaffolding in ? Developers, new social housing, chip-pan fires, Victorian sewer collapses, that sort of thing...
DTC: The BBC is currently exploring legacy options for the long-term use of the temporary set including visitor tours and educational opportunities.
Sid: So people are going to pay to see a set that's no longer the real EastEnders set ? Gimme a break. How much is this costing ?
DTC: We have an independent review which has highlighted the importance of the show to audiences and to the BBC as a whole, and supports investment in the exterior lot.
Sid: OK mate, but I'm not going in front of Ma Hodge on this one..It's your call, Lord Hall. Next case, Ms Bulford.
Sid: Let's be clear - you want a new outdoor set, yet you also want a full-scale temporary set for two years, while you muck about with the one that's served you ok for close to 30 years. What's the problem here ? Isn't the East End supposed to be run down ?
DTC: We need a set that's 20% bigger to enable greater editorial ambition and improve working conditions for staff. Crucially, it will provide a greater sense of scale with more locations for our characters to spend time in, opening up new areas and opportunities that haven’t been possible before – all of which are in the best interest of our viewers.
Sid: And do you have a dossier of complaints from viewers that there aren't enough outdoor scenes ? Was that a "no" ? Have you visited the East End recently ? Have you heard of "urban renewal", maybe seen a few building sites, eh ? Wouldn't a cost-conscious producer like you see the benefit of a few storylines that get the scaffolding in ? Developers, new social housing, chip-pan fires, Victorian sewer collapses, that sort of thing...
DTC: The BBC is currently exploring legacy options for the long-term use of the temporary set including visitor tours and educational opportunities.
Sid: So people are going to pay to see a set that's no longer the real EastEnders set ? Gimme a break. How much is this costing ?
DTC: We have an independent review which has highlighted the importance of the show to audiences and to the BBC as a whole, and supports investment in the exterior lot.
Sid: OK mate, but I'm not going in front of Ma Hodge on this one..It's your call, Lord Hall. Next case, Ms Bulford.
Thursday, January 9, 2014
Lodgers
Whilst we enjoy the BBC's shiny new buildings around the country, it's occasionally useful to be reminded that Auntie has moved from a freeholder to a tenant in all of them. Morgan Stanley set up the bond deal that supports Broadcasting House, and have just transferred management of the mortgage to a company called Mount Street. Investors in the bond have benefited from returns way above both bank rate and inflation.
The Morgan Stanley vehicle being transferred is called Juturna (a Roman goddess of fountains, wells and springs), and the outstanding debt is £772,026,630 (secured on the redeveloped Broadcasting House in Portland Place).
The Morgan Stanley vehicle being transferred is called Juturna (a Roman goddess of fountains, wells and springs), and the outstanding debt is £772,026,630 (secured on the redeveloped Broadcasting House in Portland Place).
Friday, December 27, 2013
Flush
Greg Dyke selflessly offers his opinion to The Guardian - "The BBC has a problem in the sense it's got a busted flush as chairman. I am surprised [Patten] is still there. It would probably help if he wasn't."
In the last full year of Greg's tenure as DG (2002/3), Greg was on a salary of £368k plus a bonus of £88k. His total package was £469k - equivalent to £646k in 2012. In addition, the BBC contributed £59,000 to his money purchase pension scheme. Alan Yentob was on a package of £321k (which including a miserly £20k for on screen presentation), and Mark Byford on £306k. Jana Bennett was on £444k, and the BBC paid £136k towards her costs of moving back from the States. There were 18 members of the Executive, with their packages totalling £5.3m.
In the last full year of Greg's tenure as DG (2002/3), Greg was on a salary of £368k plus a bonus of £88k. His total package was £469k - equivalent to £646k in 2012. In addition, the BBC contributed £59,000 to his money purchase pension scheme. Alan Yentob was on a package of £321k (which including a miserly £20k for on screen presentation), and Mark Byford on £306k. Jana Bennett was on £444k, and the BBC paid £136k towards her costs of moving back from the States. There were 18 members of the Executive, with their packages totalling £5.3m.
Monday, December 9, 2013
Autosum
You know that bit where the BBC appointed Anne Bulford as Managing Director, Finance and Operations?
On a package of £395,000, which was o.k. because "The role will now combine the two posts of Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer."
Those posts belonged to Zarin Patel (on a final annual package of £337,000) and Caroline Thomson (on a final annual package of £328,000).
Anne is supported by Dominic Coles as Director of Operations, on a package of £307,800. And she has advertised for a new Chief Financial Officer, to report to her, managing 400 staff, and graded Senior Management 1, though the salary is not disclosed.
The Bulford/Coles duo already costs £37,800 more a year than the Patel/Thomson partnership. How much will the CFO add ?
On a package of £395,000, which was o.k. because "The role will now combine the two posts of Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer."
Those posts belonged to Zarin Patel (on a final annual package of £337,000) and Caroline Thomson (on a final annual package of £328,000).
Anne is supported by Dominic Coles as Director of Operations, on a package of £307,800. And she has advertised for a new Chief Financial Officer, to report to her, managing 400 staff, and graded Senior Management 1, though the salary is not disclosed.
The Bulford/Coles duo already costs £37,800 more a year than the Patel/Thomson partnership. How much will the CFO add ?
Wednesday, December 4, 2013
The advantages of an older man
Today we get the first quarterly set of BBC expenses under the new DG Tony Hall - and he's leading from the front. He travelled first class on two train journeys - but, with judicial use of his senior railcard, reduced the cost to Auntie - and paid back the extra above standard fare.
Less hair-shirted was his choice of hotels for bosses' awaydays. The Executive Board were treated to the Malmaison Hotel in Reading ("Looking for a brief encounter somewhere special ?") and the larger Management Board went to Cardiff's "most stylish and contemporary hotel", St David's.
Elsewhere, Creative Director Alan Yentob visited Los Angeles (return flight £1,840) and stayed three nights at L'Ermitage, Beverly Hills (£700). Other slightly cheaper hotels are available - Janice Hadlow, Controller BBC2 and Minder of BBC4, and Zai Bennett, Controller of BBC3 stayed at the Sunset Marquis for the LA Screenings.
The Hall inclusive management style means bi-monthly trips to London for the Directors of our Nations & Regions, and it's exhausting reading the transport and hotel claims for Ken MacQuarrie (Scotland), Rhodri Talfan Davies (Wales) and Peter Johnston (Northern Ireland). Peter's PA, as ever, amuses with the details of his London solo dining - this time featuring Carluccio's, St John's Wood; Golden Dragon, Gerrard Street; Shikara in Great Titchfield Street; and Giraffe, Heathrow (twice). I feel sure a modern BBC could reduce the stress on these gents by video-conferencing.
Departing HR Director Lucy Adams seems to have been hit by the predatory pricing of Virgin Trains, with one trip to Birmingham racking up at £159, and another to Manchester at £309. Yet these are mere trifles compared with the total Virgin cost of finance man for the North, Ian Haythornthwaite, in and out of his Preston home like a veritable yo-yo.
On a first scan, Television business chief Bal Samra remains king of the taxi. 70 individual journeys, including three "quads" - four trips on the same day.
Less hair-shirted was his choice of hotels for bosses' awaydays. The Executive Board were treated to the Malmaison Hotel in Reading ("Looking for a brief encounter somewhere special ?") and the larger Management Board went to Cardiff's "most stylish and contemporary hotel", St David's.
Elsewhere, Creative Director Alan Yentob visited Los Angeles (return flight £1,840) and stayed three nights at L'Ermitage, Beverly Hills (£700). Other slightly cheaper hotels are available - Janice Hadlow, Controller BBC2 and Minder of BBC4, and Zai Bennett, Controller of BBC3 stayed at the Sunset Marquis for the LA Screenings.
The Hall inclusive management style means bi-monthly trips to London for the Directors of our Nations & Regions, and it's exhausting reading the transport and hotel claims for Ken MacQuarrie (Scotland), Rhodri Talfan Davies (Wales) and Peter Johnston (Northern Ireland). Peter's PA, as ever, amuses with the details of his London solo dining - this time featuring Carluccio's, St John's Wood; Golden Dragon, Gerrard Street; Shikara in Great Titchfield Street; and Giraffe, Heathrow (twice). I feel sure a modern BBC could reduce the stress on these gents by video-conferencing.
Departing HR Director Lucy Adams seems to have been hit by the predatory pricing of Virgin Trains, with one trip to Birmingham racking up at £159, and another to Manchester at £309. Yet these are mere trifles compared with the total Virgin cost of finance man for the North, Ian Haythornthwaite, in and out of his Preston home like a veritable yo-yo.
On a first scan, Television business chief Bal Samra remains king of the taxi. 70 individual journeys, including three "quads" - four trips on the same day.
- Official Beeb line: The figures show that spend on expenses is stable on the previous quarter and the same quarter last year. "There will always be costs associated with running a large media organisation with bases across the UK and abroad, but we are mindful we are spending public money and will continue to work hard to keep expenditure to a minimum.”
Thursday, November 7, 2013
Sappers
We mentioned the BBC's Project Smart last month - trying to get more managers to engage with SAP business software.
Now we learn that the BBC has 4973 licenced SAP users - more than 1 in 4 of staff. This seems high, and potentially expensive. Any thoughts out there on comparable operations ?
Now we learn that the BBC has 4973 licenced SAP users - more than 1 in 4 of staff. This seems high, and potentially expensive. Any thoughts out there on comparable operations ?
Tuesday, October 29, 2013
Baked
You never really leave the BBC. Zarin Patel, former Chief Financial Officer, harassed by Margaret Hodge before she lighted upon Lucy Adams, clearly still gets worked up about process at the Corporation.
This is from a Facebook page of discussion about the Great British Bake Off. Imagine how angry she might have been if something had gone wrong with, say, DMI. Click on pic to go large...
This is from a Facebook page of discussion about the Great British Bake Off. Imagine how angry she might have been if something had gone wrong with, say, DMI. Click on pic to go large...
Thursday, October 17, 2013
Dough Balls
Although Cohen, D has fingered Television and News for further BBC savings, many are looking to Anne Bulford for some smart simplification moves.
Anne's Finance and Business Board has eight members, on packages adding up to £1.98m. It sneaks under £2m with the quiet release of Liz Rylatt last month, as Director of Transition and Business Management, on a package of £174k. "Is transition over, is the function redundant ?", I hear you cry.
As at August 2012, the total bill for Senior Managers in Anne's division was £5m. She had 8.7% of the BBC population of Senior Managers, yet 9.5% of the Senior Manager wage bill - more than 20 of the team on salaries above £100k. And, oddly, she seems to be carrying Alan Yentob's salary on her books.
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| A farewell honour from UCL |
As at August 2012, the total bill for Senior Managers in Anne's division was £5m. She had 8.7% of the BBC population of Senior Managers, yet 9.5% of the Senior Manager wage bill - more than 20 of the team on salaries above £100k. And, oddly, she seems to be carrying Alan Yentob's salary on her books.
Friday, September 27, 2013
Financial planning
“Our fiduciary mindset as an asset manager is to help clients navigate the complexities of investing as they plan for retirement, save for education costs and sidestep the pitfalls inherent in volatile markets. Stephanie’s experience and objective approach uniquely qualify her for doing this,” said George Gatch, Chief Executive Officer and Head of Global Funds Management, J.P. Morgan Asset Management, a trading name of J.P.Morgan Asset Management Marketing Ltd, part of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.
It looks like Stephanie Flanders has made essentially an investment decision to move from the BBC after eleven years; she will at least have trebled her salary, and there will undoubtedly be further perks now frowned on at Auntie. She has two children with the possibility of considerable "education costs" still in front of them, and a freelance journalist husband. She'll have to bash across from W6 occasionally to HQ, based in the brutalist Finsbury Dials, but joins a small team, one suspects as an extra - there's no record of a previous Chief Market Strategist, UK and Europe. But then JP Morgan, the biggest bank in the States by assets, can probably afford an extra post or two, whereas the BBC's Business Unit is looking for 20% cuts over five years.
It is enormously worrying for the BBC that key staff, who know what they are talking about, feel other employers are now more attractive. In recent moves, Matt Frei, Jackie Long, Michael Crick, Liz McKean and Paul Mason have gone. James Harding will want to make a good signing to replace Stephanie. I've already been lobbied to mention Jenny Scott, once BBC Economics correspondent, and occasional sidekick to Andrew Neil, now working as an advisor to the Governor of the Bank of England...
It looks like Stephanie Flanders has made essentially an investment decision to move from the BBC after eleven years; she will at least have trebled her salary, and there will undoubtedly be further perks now frowned on at Auntie. She has two children with the possibility of considerable "education costs" still in front of them, and a freelance journalist husband. She'll have to bash across from W6 occasionally to HQ, based in the brutalist Finsbury Dials, but joins a small team, one suspects as an extra - there's no record of a previous Chief Market Strategist, UK and Europe. But then JP Morgan, the biggest bank in the States by assets, can probably afford an extra post or two, whereas the BBC's Business Unit is looking for 20% cuts over five years.
It is enormously worrying for the BBC that key staff, who know what they are talking about, feel other employers are now more attractive. In recent moves, Matt Frei, Jackie Long, Michael Crick, Liz McKean and Paul Mason have gone. James Harding will want to make a good signing to replace Stephanie. I've already been lobbied to mention Jenny Scott, once BBC Economics correspondent, and occasional sidekick to Andrew Neil, now working as an advisor to the Governor of the Bank of England...
Wednesday, August 28, 2013
Disbursements
I come a little late to the scavenging over the latest round of BBC expenses, so have had to try harder.
I still wonder whether Preston is the right base for Ian Haythornthwaite, doubling as Peter Salmon's finance boss in Salford, and head of sport rights (in succession to Dominic Coles). £4,693.63 on UK rail, buses, trams, car parking and hotels in the quarter. One £983 flight to New Orleans, via JFK - meals at the Corner Oyster House, the Camelia Grill and The Market Cafe. Then back via Newark, with "dinner" (£9.23) at MacDonalds. Mr Coles hasn't trained him well - surely there's one in Preston ?
Zarin Patel, still thought to be working her notice as redundant CFO, kept up the search for ideas and contacts over the quarter. No less than four of her external entertainment claims came in at £100 on the nose. My receipts never seem to do that, but I'm sure it's all been audited by KPMG. .
And chums of Steve Mitchell, former Number 2 in news, who retired in March none too happy with the obsessive interest of Nick Pollard in controlling news through lists, will note he managed to have a reasonably comfy seat on a last trip to the Washington bureau in February, at £3684.76.
I still wonder whether Preston is the right base for Ian Haythornthwaite, doubling as Peter Salmon's finance boss in Salford, and head of sport rights (in succession to Dominic Coles). £4,693.63 on UK rail, buses, trams, car parking and hotels in the quarter. One £983 flight to New Orleans, via JFK - meals at the Corner Oyster House, the Camelia Grill and The Market Cafe. Then back via Newark, with "dinner" (£9.23) at MacDonalds. Mr Coles hasn't trained him well - surely there's one in Preston ?
Zarin Patel, still thought to be working her notice as redundant CFO, kept up the search for ideas and contacts over the quarter. No less than four of her external entertainment claims came in at £100 on the nose. My receipts never seem to do that, but I'm sure it's all been audited by KPMG. .
And chums of Steve Mitchell, former Number 2 in news, who retired in March none too happy with the obsessive interest of Nick Pollard in controlling news through lists, will note he managed to have a reasonably comfy seat on a last trip to the Washington bureau in February, at £3684.76.
Friday, August 2, 2013
The Severance Six
It looks like Ma Hodge is close to settling her line-up for the Public Accounts Committee session in early September, revisiting BBC severance payments. Former chairman of the BBC Trust, Sir Michael Lyons is now expected to make the journey from Sutton Coldfield, to stand alongside Trust finance expert Anthony Fry, versus, for the executive, former senior non-exec Marcus Agius and former DG Mark Thompson. Most of the focus will be on deals for the last Deputy DG, Mark Byford and marketing chief Sharon Baylay. These deals were either "maximum" or "way beyond contractual", depending on your particular perspective. Lucy Adams, HR Director will return, to see what she can remember of the emails and letters around the process.
Grumpy Patten will be there, arguing it wasn't on his watch. There may not even be space for Lord Hall.
Grumpy Patten will be there, arguing it wasn't on his watch. There may not even be space for Lord Hall.
Monday, July 29, 2013
Tootling
The Commons Public Accounts Committee may like to note that former BBC DG Mark Thompson will be back in blighty on Friday 6th September, giving a lecture (titter not) entitled "Paying the piper".
Mark returns to Oxford for the Reuters Memorial Lecture 2013 - the subtitle is "Re-thinking the economics of newspaper journalism". The next morning he's part of a plenary panel on "The future of journalism", alongside Peter Barron (ex BBC Newsnight, now Google), Nic Newman (ex BBC News Online), John Stackhouse of Canada's Globe and Mail, and Natalie Nougayrede of Le Monde. The session is chaired by David Levy, (ex BBC radio producer and Newsnight reporter, BBC Controller of Public Affairs up to 2007).
Mark returns to Oxford for the Reuters Memorial Lecture 2013 - the subtitle is "Re-thinking the economics of newspaper journalism". The next morning he's part of a plenary panel on "The future of journalism", alongside Peter Barron (ex BBC Newsnight, now Google), Nic Newman (ex BBC News Online), John Stackhouse of Canada's Globe and Mail, and Natalie Nougayrede of Le Monde. The session is chaired by David Levy, (ex BBC radio producer and Newsnight reporter, BBC Controller of Public Affairs up to 2007).
Thursday, July 25, 2013
Trail trouble
Ben Webster, The Times media editor, is certainly not coasting ahead of a return to the environment brief. This morning he has news of a £500k severance payment made to Peter Fincham, when he was Controller of BBC1, and got caught up in the abysmally-cut trail for the documentary "A Year With The Queen".
The film was made by indie RDF, who messed with time in the trail, which then clearly gave the impression that Her Majesty left an Annie Liebovitz photo-session grumpy. Peter showed the trail to the press in July, saying she'd "walked out in a huff". Thus it became a news item - and, though people inside the BBC knew things were wrong by 7pm that evening, the apology and correction came after it was still running on morning bulletins.
The sledgehammer nut-cracking services of Will Wyatt were comissioned for a report. Fincham (and Stephen Lambert of RDF) resigned. Jana Bennett, Director of BBC Vision - Fincham's boss - was criticised for "displaying a lack of curiosity", but survived.
The payment, presumably made in October 2007, doesn't feature in the Annual Report 2007/8 - nor does "Fincham" or "The Queen". Mark Thompson was DG, Zarin Patel was Group Finance Director, Caroline Thomson Chief Operating Officer and HR was under the care of Stephen Kelly. The recent NAO report covers BBC severance payments from January 2010 to December 2012.
The film was made by indie RDF, who messed with time in the trail, which then clearly gave the impression that Her Majesty left an Annie Liebovitz photo-session grumpy. Peter showed the trail to the press in July, saying she'd "walked out in a huff". Thus it became a news item - and, though people inside the BBC knew things were wrong by 7pm that evening, the apology and correction came after it was still running on morning bulletins.
The sledgehammer nut-cracking services of Will Wyatt were comissioned for a report. Fincham (and Stephen Lambert of RDF) resigned. Jana Bennett, Director of BBC Vision - Fincham's boss - was criticised for "displaying a lack of curiosity", but survived.
The payment, presumably made in October 2007, doesn't feature in the Annual Report 2007/8 - nor does "Fincham" or "The Queen". Mark Thompson was DG, Zarin Patel was Group Finance Director, Caroline Thomson Chief Operating Officer and HR was under the care of Stephen Kelly. The recent NAO report covers BBC severance payments from January 2010 to December 2012.
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