Diversity will also be a key feature of the new charter, which Mr Whittingdale had hinted at the previous day when pushed by Labour’s David Lammy about the lack of people from ethnic backgrounds on the BBC board.
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People watching BBC programmes on demand online will be required to obtain a TV licence, he said. The date for the change has yet to be confirmed. At its heart is a desire for the BBC to place “distinctive content” at the centre of its focus.
The BBC Trust, which now regulates the broadcaster, would be abolished and the BBC would have to disclose salaries of employees that exceed the director general’s pay of £450,000 a year.
Whittingdale told MPs in the House of Commons that Ofcom would also be given the power to see how the BBC’s output impacts on its commercial rivals.
The government is set to debate the proposals in the White Paper this autumn.
The actor said discussions about the future of the BBC were “extremely important” and added that “ideologically the Conservative Party will always have a problem with an organisation like the BBC”.
The BBC will continue to be funded by the licence fee, which Whittingdale said remains the “most appropriate funding model”. “Under the new agreement the remaining 50 per cent will now be removed for all BBC content expect news in a phased out process”, said Whittingdale.
Ofcom will be given the power to regulate all BBC services and the director general – now Tony Hall – will continue to have editorial oversight, Whittingdale said. The old BBC Trust will be abolished and replaced with a new board that is partly government-appointed. “The White Paper reaffirms our mission to inform, educate and entertain all audiences on television, on radio and online”.
The £3.7 billion the BBC collects in licence fee payments could be shared with other broadcasters in some areas, such as children’s television. A decision on the digital switchover is likely to be taken at some point during the next charter period and the Government would expect that the BBC completes the final phase of its national DAB network so coverage is equal to that of FM.
Former BBC Trust chairman and Tory peer Lord Patten of Barnes previously described the potential bar on the BBC showing popular shows at peak times as “ridiculous”.
Household names like chat show host Graham Norton (pictured) could have their salaries published, as the plans include releasing details of everyone paid more than £150,000 a year. On Monday, peers argued that the future of the BBC should not rest on the whim of the government.
“In many ways our broadcasters, the BBC and Channel 4, which they’re also attempting to eviscerate, are the envy of the world and we should stand up and fight for it”, he said in his acceptance speech for best director.
Programme making will be opened to greater competition. “But if the Government are not stupid then we won’t have to march”.
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Speaking at the event in Convocation Hall in Westminster, Lord Fowler said: “The Government should do nothing which compromises an independent BBC”.
