BBC shows defiant vision of a digital future

The BBC laid out a defiant vision of its future on Tuesday, with the director-general refusing to shrink its activities to pacify commercial rivals and its governing body setting its own timetable to approve any changes.

Under pressure from politicians over the funding of public-service broadcasting, and from commercial media companies complaining that £3.6bn of licence fee money distorts their markets, the BBC conducted a strategic review to consider its future shape. Its conclusion, presented to the BBC Trust by Mark Thompson, the director-general, was that £600m would be reallocated to concentrate on high-quality journalism, culture and education, original comedy and drama, children's programmes and "nationally unifying events", such as royal weddings and funerals. Of that sum, £100m would come by cutting two digital radio stations, reducing the budget for bbc.co.uk by a quarter, spending less on imported shows and administration. The remaining £500m would be shifted from existing budgets after 2011, with BBC 2, Radio 2 and children's shows given higher priority. Thompson accepted criticism that the BBC's operations in certain areas, especially online, had put commercial operators under financial strain. That would now change, he said.