The BBC’s Putting Quality First review will see it invest an extra £600m into programme-making after ringfencing 90p of every £1 of the licence fee for content.

Speaking to staff this morning ahead of the press conference on his plans for the size and scope review, director general Mark Thompson outlined five editorial policies for the corporation.

It will focus on

  • providing the best journalism in the world
  • inspiring knowledge, music and culture
  • ambitious UK drama and comedy
  • outstanding children’s content
  • and events that bring communities and the nation together

But there will be cuts too: the BBC will cut web spend by 25% by 2013 and it now believes Channel 4 should lead the way with content aimed at teenagers.

Currently, 88p of each £1 of the licence fee goes towards content creation for TV, radio and online, with the remaining 12p going towards running costs. In 2011 and 2012, costs associated with digital switchover will reduce content spend to 86p per £1.

Thompson said today that by 2013, programme spend will be ringfenced at 90p per £1.

Thompson confirmed plans to close BBC Switch and BBC Blast and said that radio 6Music and Asian Network have also been earmarked for closure, by the end of 2011 at the earliest.

Meanwhile, he said, Radio 2 needed to “sharpen its distinctiveness in its range of music and speech” and that the BBC needs better quality local radio. Thompsonproposed sharing more programmes across outlets during off-peak periods.

The BBC has submitted the review to the BBC Trust ahead of a wider consultation.

Fewer things better: where the BBC cuts fall

Online
Halving the number of sections on the site and improving its quality by closing lower performing
sites and consolidating the rest

Spending 25% less on the site per year by 2013

Turning the site into a window on the web by providing at least one external link on every
page and doubling monthly ‘click-throughs’ to external sites

Radio
Increasing the quality of local radio: boosting investment in local news at breakfast, mid-morning
and drivetime using resources released by sharing content at other times

Recommending the closure of Radio 6 Music: focusing popular music output on Radio 1 and an
increasingly distinctive Radio 2, using the resources released to drive digital radio in other ways

Recommending the closure of Asian Network as a national service, and using the resources
released to serve Asian audiences better in other ways

Teens
Recommending the closure of teen offerings BBC Switch and Blast!

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