But the BBC raised fears it would be harder to hold on to its biggest names and pointed out that it already paid less than other broadcasters.
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“Licence fee payers have a right to know where their money goes”.
– The BBC would be required to publish the names of the now 109 on-air hosts and performers, including news anchors, sports announcers, talk show and entertainment show hosts, with salaries in excess of £150,000 ($198,000), with pay initially disclosed in bands of £50,000 ($66,000).
The corporation added that it had cut the amount it pays its broadcasting stars by £8m. The white paper called for a continuation of BBC funding via a license fee of £145.50 ($192) that taxpayers pay every year and that will increase with inflation starting in 2017 after having been frozen in recent years.
Among those likely to make it onto the list are football commentator Gary Lineker, chat show host Graham Norton and presenter Jeremy Vine.
A mixture of BBC executives and non-executive Directors will sit on the board, and despite initial plans by the Government, Bradley today confirmed that the majority would be appointed by the BBC, thereby ensuring its independence from Ministers.
A draft of the charter, which will outline the United Kingdom pubcaster’s remit, will include a clause requiring the BBC to disclose the £50,000 band into which employees earning above the threshold fall.
The original plan for the pay disclosure focused on on-air talent earning more than £450,000 ($595,000) a year.
These names were supplied by helpful BBC insiders who believe making this information more widely known is in the public interest.
This would include hosts such as Strictly Come Dancing hosts Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly as well as Kirsty Wark, Fiona Bruce and Jeremy Vine. The charter will be the BBC’s operating agreement for the next 11 years. “The public says they want the best stars on the BBC and this could make it harder to retain them”.
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Although Lord Hall and the BBC remain unhappy about requirement to publish talent pay, he said “overall” the new arrangements are “the right outcome for the BBC and its role as a creative power for Britain”.
