Outgoing BBC drama controller Ben Stephenson has made the case for an increase in the licence fee as he prepares to leave the corporation this week.
In an emotional plea to defend the corporation from further cuts, Stephenson said if the licence fee remains frozen at £145.50 then it could be detrimental to the UK television ecology.
Speaking to the Radio Times ahead of John Whittingdale’s appointment as culture secretary on Monday, he said the market would be unable to fill the gap left by the BBC.
He added: “Someone invented the TV but it was the BBC that invented British television. You can’t just pull the rug from under that and think that nothing is going to change. And the BBC will be the poorer for it.”
Stephenson, who commissioned Sherlock, Poldark and Wolf Hall, also suggested that the BBC’s drama department is already at “tipping point” and if the freeze continues there will be less drama and fewer jobs. “It doesn’t make sense on an economic level. We do need to increase the licence fee,” he said.
Stephenson will leave on Friday to join JJ Abrams’ US production company Bad Robot. He has been replaced by BBC head of independent drama Polly Hill.
No comments yet