BBC Trust boss Rona Fairhead says the corporation has made 'great strides' in reducing how much it pays on-screen talent after a report showed the amount it paid them fell from £221 million to £188 million in five years.
In a speech today, Ms Fairhead will tell the Oxford Media Convention that the BBC needs to continue developing 'new talent' and also to know 'when to walk away' from negotiations.
The BBC has been heavily criticised in the past for the amount it pays its top talent, with presenters including Jeremy Clarkson and Graham Norton reportedly among its biggest earners.
Jeremy Clarkson is one of the BBC’s top earners (Yui Mok/PA)
The review, carried out by media advisers Oliver and Ohlbaum, said overall spending on talent had gone down by 15 per cent from £221 million to £188 million between 2008-9 and 2013-14.
It also showed pay for the corporation’s top-earning talent was reduced by almost a third (29 per cent) in the same period and the number of individuals earning between £500,000 and £5 million had fallen from 22 to 14.
But the BBC response to the report warned that it was 'now likely to face inflationary pressure on talent fees' because of growing competition from other broadcasters.
Graham Norton is another well-paid star at the BBC (Anthony Devlin/PA)
Ms Fairhead will say: “The Trust recognises that the outstanding people on-screen and on-air are at the heart of the BBC; at the same time we are clear that the BBC has a responsibility to spend public money wisely in its approach to talent pay.
“Today’s report shows that the BBC has made great strides in reducing talent costs, and it’s clear this has been achieved without affecting quality.
“The report also points to increasing competitive and inflationary pressures in the market. To counter that pressure, the BBC needs to build on its progress – so that it does more to develop new talent, can demonstrate optimum value in its deals and knows when to walk away.”
Rona Fairhead (Stefan Rousseau/PA)
The report says the BBC needs to improve its approach to talent development and how it uses data showing 'what the BBC gets for the money it spends'.
BBC commercial director Bal Samra said: “Talent is incredibly important to the BBC, and we are committed to attracting, retaining and developing the very best talent for our audiences – it is what they expect.
“I am delighted that the trust review recognises our considerable achievement in making such major savings without sacrificing the quality of our programmes.
“The review recognised that the BBC is at the forefront of the industry both in developing new talent and in delivering value for money, and we’ll continue to improve our processes to ensure that we build on the progress we’ve made.”
