Press Release - BBC Trust publishes NAO report on
the BBC's management of its coverage of major sporting and music
events
28 January
2010
The BBC Trust today (28 January 2010)
published an independent report commissioned from the National
Audit Office on the BBC's management of its coverage of major
sporting and music events.
The NAO review looked at the effectiveness of
the BBC's management of its coverage of major sporting and music
events, once the decision to cover an event had been taken. It
considered how the BBC initiates, plans, delivers and reviews this
coverage.
The report found that five out of the six
events examined finished under budget or no more than one per cent
over budget (with the sixth five per cent over budget). However,
the NAO recommends that the BBC improve the way it commissions
coverage of events and evaluates them post-broadcast. The Trust
accepts the NAO's recommendations, many of which have already been
acted upon and the remainder of which the Executive is responding
to.
Viewers and listeners generally valued the
coverage with, for example, 70 per cent of people giving the BBC
eight out of ten for its coverage of Euro 2008, while approximately
80 per cent of the UK population watched at least three minutes of
Olympic coverage in 2008.
Key points from the report and the Trust's
response to them include:
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When the BBC commissions coverage of events,
and approves budgets, it does not identify intended benefits or
carry out a formal cost-benefit consideration of a range of
coverage options. This limits its ability to make informed
judgements about its use of funds. By not setting out what the
intended benefits are, and not carrying out systematic reviews, it
is difficult for the BBC to assess the success of its coverage and
the value for money it has secured.
The BBC Trust's view is that it is appropriate to carry out full
pre-event options analysis and post-event reviews for periodic
events, but considers that the detail required may vary for
recurring annual events where they represent "business as usual".
In all cases the extent of analysis and review must be
proportionate in terms of the benefits delivered, relative to the
time and resources involved. The Trust will require the Executive
to put forward further proposals to improve current
systems.
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The BBC does not have a clear view of the
total budget for coverage of individual major music and sporting
events. Separate budgets are drawn up for each media platform and
some talent costs are approved separately as part of long-term
contracts.
The Trust's view is that the BBC Executive has already taken action
in this respect, including setting up Popular and Classical Music
Boards, which now ensure costs are collated and reviewed by a
single body. In sport, the 2012 Olympics are being organised and
managed through a dedicated programme overseen by the BBC Director
of London 2012. The Trust will require the Executive to consider
ways in which such arrangements could be applied more widely to
sporting events.
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The BBC has used only limited and informal
internal benchmarking to compare the costs and production processes
of recurring and similar major sporting and music events it covers.
The BBC should identify events it covers that would allow for cost
comparisons and hold reviews periodically.
The BBC Trust's view is that benchmarking is important but it notes
that the BBC has encountered a reluctance from other broadcasters
to share information, making internal benchmarking particularly
important. To this end several pan-BBC groups have been set up to
allow sharing of best practice and costs. The Trust will keep these
arrangements under review.
Overall the Trust found that many of the NAO's
recommendations have already been implemented by the Executive
following the 2008 events studied. For the remaining
recommendations, the Trust is satisfied that the Executive's
proposed actions are an appropriate initial response to the NAO's
findings. The Trust will require the Executive to produce an action
plan, including a clear timetable, for implementation of the
recommendations. It will share this with the NAO and progress
against the plan will be reported back to the Trust.
Jeremy Peat, BBC Trustee, said:
"The Trust commissioned this report as part of
our programme for assessing value for money and welcomes the
analysis that the NAO has produced. While covering high profile
sports and music events is a core part of the BBC's job - and,
as this report notes, the BBC's work in this area is valued by
millions of listeners and viewers - the Trust is emphatic that
value for money must be delivered in this area, as is essential
across the BBC.
"The report finds that the BBC has succeeded
in coming in very close to or under budget for all but one of the
major events considered. But it is also clear that there are areas
for improvement, particularly with regard to approval and
post-event review processes.
"The Trust notes that the Executive has
already implemented many of the NAO's recommendations, but there is
still more to do and we will review progress on a regular basis in
the context of the action plan that we have asked the Executive to
produce."
Amyas Morse, Head of the National Audit
Office, said:
"Millions of people enjoy the coverage of
major sporting and music events provided by the BBC. But,
particularly given the current economic conditions, the BBC has not
done enough to demonstrate that its coverage provides the best
possible value for money. When the BBC decides that it wants to
cover a major sporting or music event, it should carefully explore
a range of options, and set down clear objectives against which it
can measure its achievements after the event. Without that, the BBC
will not convince licence fee payers that their money has been well
spent."
Notes for Editors
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It is the responsibility of the BBC Trust,
under the Royal Charter, to ensure that value for money is achieved
by the BBC through its spending of the licence fee. In order to
fulfil this responsibility, the Trust commissions and publishes a
series of independent value for money reviews each year in
consultation with the Comptroller and Auditor General - the
head of the NAO. The reviews are undertaken by the NAO or other
external agencies.
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The BBC defines 'major events' as those
of significant size and complexity, requiring the assembly of
specific resources and management beyond that required for
continuous day-to-day activities; broadcast live, at least in part,
over two days or more; and multi-platform and/or
cross-departmental. The six events examined by the NAO (based on
the importance of the event and the cost of coverage) comprised 86
per cent of the £40.4 million spent on covering major events in
2008-9 and were: The Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, The 2008 UEFA
European Football Championship, the 2008 Wimbledon Championships,
The BBC Proms 2008, Glastonbury 2008 and Radio 1's Big Weekend
2008.
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Press notices and reports are available from
the date of publication on the NAO website, which is at www.nao.org.uk or the BBC Trust's
website www.bbc.co.uk/bbctrust. Hard
copies can be obtained from The Stationery Office on 0845 702
3474.
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The Comptroller and Auditor General, Amyas
Morse, is the head of the National Audit Office which employs some
900 staff. He and the NAO are totally independent of
Government. He certifies the accounts of all Government
departments and a wide range of other public sector bodies; and he
has statutory authority to report to Parliament on the economy,
efficiency and effectiveness with which departments and other
bodies have used their resources.
Media contacts:
Phil Groves
NAO Press Office
Tel: 020 7798 5339
Mobile: 07770 678477
Katie McPhee
BBC Trust Press Office
Tel: 020 3214 4944