Background
We last reported on the BBC’s savings and reform programme in December 2021. Since then, the BBC has continued to face sustained financial pressure, including rising production and operating costs, high levels of general inflation, declining licence fee income, and a two-year licence fee freeze from April 2022.
The BBC is running an efficiency and transformation programme, which began in 2022 and aims to deliver £700 million of recurring savings by 2027-28.
These efficiency measures sit alongside wider ambitions to improve resilience and ensure financial sustainability going into the next Charter Period, which begins in 2028.
The BBC has recently announced that it intends to target an additional reduction of the total Public Service cost base by 10% by March 2029.
Scope
This study will examine the BBC’s efficiency programme and whether it is delivering credible savings while protecting audience value, now and in the future. It will examine whether the BBC has:
- achieved the aims of its efficiency programme to date
- made clear, evidence-led and well-governed efficiency decisions that balance cost reduction with audience value
- positioned itself to manage future challenges and risks
NAO team
Director: Simon Bittlestone
Study Manager: Anna Sydorak-Tomczyk