One Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ - Making It Happen
Television
Centre, London, 7 February 2002
Printable version
A press
release outlining the key points of this address is available .
Good morning.
First of
all could I warn you that I am going to talk for quite a long time this
morning Β– not quite Fidel Castro length but long enough for there
to be a danger of people getting bored so if I see people beginning
to leave I'll try to cut it short. It's long because what
I want to say today is important.
I want
to talk about three things Β– firstly how we did last year, secondly
what is the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ's role in the digital age, and thirdly the progress
we've made in meeting some of the aims of One Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ and the challenge
we face now in taking the ideas further.
So let me start with the last twelve months. I would say that we had
a pretty good year in all areas of the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ and I'd like to thank
everyone Β– and I mean everyone Β– for contributing to that.
We did
well right across the board, in network television, where Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ TWO had
a particularly good year, in radio where last week's figures showed
record audiences for Radios 2, 4 and 5 Live; in news; in factual &
learning; in drama, entertainment & children's; in new media
where the launch of Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔi and interactive television has gone brilliantly,
in the nations and regions; in Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Local Radio; in sport; and in our
international services.
Our commercial
businesses also performed well. Worldwide made record sales; Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Technology
got off to a good start; we've just got the green light for Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ
Broadcast and Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Resources made a cash contribution to the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ for
the first time. Next year we hope it will make its first ever profit.
I'm very optimistic about the future of Resources after some difficult
years.
And let's
not forget the professional services like finance, strategy, public
policy, and HR. Support services are not necessarily the most glamorous
parts of a broadcasting or programme-making organisation but they do
matter and creativity is as important in those areas as in the obvious
areas like production.
I do want
to refer to our performance in two areas in particular.
The World
Service has sometimes in the past been perceived as the poor relation
in the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ, in fact I am told there have been times when it saw itself
as that. Never again. In the weeks after September 11th the World Service
and our international television news service Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ World have come into
their own.
How many
of us before September 11th were aware that the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ's Pashtu Service
was the most important broadcaster in a Taliban-run Afghanistan? But
everyone knows now and in Afghanistan everyone knew which is why the
World Service was the only broadcaster allowed into the swearing-in
ceremony of the new Government.
Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ World
has had a similar success and I've had many letters and press cuttings
from the United States praising World's coverage in contrast to
the rather jingoistic coverage of the American networks.
Everyone
who has contributed to our coverage of events since September 11th right
across the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ should feel proud of what they have achieved. Covering
the war in Afghanistan was not easy and according to the people who
went there it was pretty scary at times. But they performed brilliantly
and our coverage has been outstanding across all media.
The second
area I want to refer to is Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ ONE.
Last year
Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ ONE had a higher share of the audience than ITV for the first time
ever. We didn't even achieve that in 1989 when the ITV system was
closed down for several weeks because of a strike!
Now we
shouldn't get too excited about this Β– we only won by 0.1%
and our victory was partly because ITV lost 7% of its audience in a
single year. Remember, this stuff is cyclical, but it was a turning
point and in the first month of this year we've carried on in the
same vein. Last January Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ ONE was behind ITV by 3.6 share points.
This year we were ahead by 0.9 share points, assuming of course that
we believe the new BARB measurement system.
In recent
years Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ ONE has had a rough time largely because it was under-funded.
Two years ago I said restoring the strength of Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ ONE was one of my
first and main priorities. We put in a lot of extra money, both to the
channel directly and via the sports budget, and it is beginning to work.
Of course
the response in some quarters to us winning was inevitable. According
to some journalists and politicians this was just further evidence that
the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ was dumbing down. How else, they asked, could we have won? It
had to be dumbing down.
It's
a funny job this. A year ago we were being criticised for losing on
Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ ONE. Now we are being criticised for winning.
Personally
I just don't buy the dumbing down argument. Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ ONE's schedule
is changing Β– as it should Β– but sometimes I feel the dumbing
down debate is a bit like that scene in the Life of Brian when John
Cleese asks, "What have the Romans ever done for us?", and
the answer was the plumbing, the roads, the legal system etc. etc.
Imagine
the scene. What did Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ ONE ever do for us last year?
Well there
was Blue Planet, described by some as the best natural history series
ever.
All right,
all right I'll give you Blue Planet. But apart from that what did
Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ ONE do for us last year?
Well did
you see The Way We Live Now? David Suchet was brilliant.
All right,
I'll give you that but apart from Blue Planet and The Way We Live
Now what did Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ ONE do for us last year?
How about
EastEnders, Messiah, The Lost World, Clocking Off, My Family, Linda
Green, Walking with Beasts, Child of Our Time, Welcome to Britain, Panorama,
Son of God, I Was a Rat, Comic Relief, Children in Need, The One o'clock
News, the Six o'clock News, the Ten o'clock News and of course
Germany 1 England 5. Although the latter wasn't quite so popular
in Scotland I discovered!
Well I'll
give you all that lot but apart from them what did Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ ONE do for us
last year? Wasn't it all just dumbing down?
Personally
I think Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ ONE had some great programmes last year. Programmes we should
all be proud of and fight the case that Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ ONE isn't dumbing down.
Rather
than dumbing down Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ ONE is getting better and will get better still
this year.
Of course
not all the programmes on Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ ONE, or Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ TWO for that matter, were
outstanding and we can still do better. For instance last year Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ ONE
still lost share amongst young adults, a problem I'll talk about
later. But a lot of the programmes on Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ ONE and Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ TWO were fantastic
and our audiences recognised that both in terms of ratings and in our
appreciation indices.
Now we
all know that getting ratings isn't our only aim at the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ. We
have a greater purpose than that. But equally we shouldn't be embarrassed
when we do make good programmes that people watch in large numbers;
we should all be proud of them.
In this
second section of this speech I want to answer a question I am regularly
asked, which is what is the purpose of the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ in the digital age? The
argument against us goes like this - in a world of massive choice why
do we need the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ? Why do we need a publicly funded, public service
broadcaster at all? Surely the market will provide all that viewers,
listeners and on-line users need or want?
Well I
beg to differ. In fact, I believe the role of the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ will be more important
in a decade's time not less because, as a result of market fragmentation,
the commercial market will not be able to afford to provide some of
the services it has historically produced. More will be required of
the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ, not less.
I believe that the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ will have three distinct roles in the 21st century.
The first
is an international role and post September 11th the role of the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ
around the world becomes not less, but more, important.
Mark Byford
who, as you know, runs the World Service and is soon to take responsibility
for Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ World and our international online news services as well, ends
his mission statement for the World Service by saying one of its aims
is to produce services which "bring credit to Britain".
He's
right that must be one of the aims of our international services because
they are based on a set of Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ values Β– independence, openness,
fairness and a range of opinion Β– which do reflect our country
at its best.
Our second
and, of course, principal role in 21st century Britain is a national
role. The Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ is part of the glue which binds the United Kingdom together.
At times of national joy or sadness, at profound moments in the UK or
around the world, at times when the nation wants to celebrate, mourn
or just enjoy itself people turn to the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ. Be it to celebrate the
millennium or a major sporting event, to mark the death of Princess
Diana or even to enjoy the playing of a much loved programme like Only
Fools and Horses - people turn in their millions to the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ.
This role
of uniting the nation becomes more not less important in a fragmenting
media world. Remember 35 million people in the UK turned to the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ's
radio and television news services on September 11th. It is also why
it is so important that our services are universally available.
Finally,
I believe the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ will have an increasingly important community role
in the years ahead. In television, the ITV system was historically the
regional system and the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ the national system. That will gradually
be reversed as the ITV system comes under greater financial pressure.
In terms of regional television news ratings, we are now winning virtually
everywhere, something that was unthinkable even five years ago.
And in
the past 18 months our local radio stations Β– speech based stations
not aimed solely at the young like most of commercial local radio Β–
have shown their value when reporting the fuel crisis in the autumn
of 2000, followed by the floods of that winter and then by the foot
and mouth crisis last spring.
During
the latter I got a letter from a woman in Cumbria which just said "thank
you for Radio Cumbria Β– in an increasingly mad world it is our
sanity".
We are
currently investing heavily in locally-based information web sites,
something we are able to do only because we are publicly funded. The
market wouldn't pay for this.
And next
comes the broadband world. We're investing in an experiment in
Hull, arguably Britain's first broadband city, where we're
trying to work out what the future will look like. We're trying
a lot of different things but one thing I am certain of already is that
the market alone won't deliver all the services broadband could
bring to improve life in a community.
I believe
most of what the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ does today and will do over the next decade or
so can be fitted into one of these three roles Β– international,
national and community.
Moving
on to my third subject, what about One Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ? Has it worked? Well some
of it has and some hasn't Β– yet.
When we
launched it we talked a lot about saving money so we could spend more
on programmes and services.
In 1999 24% of our total income was being spent on overheads on actually
running the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ. In "One Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ" we set ourselves the target
of reducing this to 15% by 2004. Well it now looks as if the figure
for the current financial year, the year that ends on March 31st, will
be below 17% and that we will hit 15% next year Β– a year early.
Along with
the licence fee increase that's how we've increased Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ ONE's
budget; that's how we'll pay for our new digital radio and
television services; that's how we've managed to pay for extra
sports rights, that's how we've managed to increase spending
in the nations and regions, that's how we've paid for interactive
television, that's how we've reversed the cuts in local radio
and increased the speed of re-equipping the stations and that's
how we'll pay to create the digital curriculum.
So in terms
of money we've saved a lot and we are spending the savings on our
programmes and our services. In this year alone we've increased
spending by Β£150 million. Real savings are having a real impact.
That wasn't achieved without a lot of pain and hard work.
Another
aim of "One Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ" was simplifying the internal market system
to take out the crazy bits; I've no doubt there are still some
left, but my impression is that we've done that pretty successfully.
I certainly don't get the number of complaints about it that I
did two years ago.
Finally
"One Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ" set about dismantling the broadcasting/ production
split in certain areas and improving it others. We did it virtually
overnight in areas like Children's, Sport, specialist factual programming
and parts of radio and this process is still ongoing.
In some
areas where we retained the split but improved the commissioning system,
like drama, the results have been highly successful. In fact the renewed
success of Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ ONE owes a lot to what has been produced by Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Drama.
However,
in other areas, like general factual, the current system is still not
working as well as we'd like and when Jana Bennett arrives as the
new Director of Television we'll have another look at it.
But there
were other, equally important, aims of "One Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ" which I'd
like to talk about for the rest of my time this morning. In the introduction
to the original "One Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ" document I wrote that our aim was
"to put audiences, creativity and programme making at the heart
of the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ."
I went
on to say I believed we could achieve this if we could turn the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ
into a place "where people work collaboratively, enjoy their job
and are inspired and united behind the common purpose of creating great
television and radio programmes and outstanding online services."
I don't
think we're there yet, judging by the feedback from our audiences
and staff. So having saved the money and changed the structures it's
time to concentrate on audiences, creativity and making this a really
great place to work.
In the
next couple of years we have an enormous opportunity, possibly a once
in a lifetime opportunity to really change the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ.
We should
recognise that the collapse in the advertising market is having a profound
effect on ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 as well as many of the commercial
radio groups. Morale in those organisations has inevitably been dented
by the difficulties they are going through. The same applies in the
online world with the collapse of the dot coms.
All of
this gives us an opportunity but it also puts a greater responsibility
on the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ to deliver. Because we are publicly funded, and we haven't
been hit by the downturn in advertising, we have to up our game and
produce even better programmes and services for all our audiences.
So what's
stopping us? Well surveys show that while the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ is widely respected
by the public there are also some significant negatives. We are seen
by many as safe, arrogant and out of touch. Staff surveys inside the
Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ produce similar results. The latest shows that while people inside
the organisation feel better informed than before they believe we're
not risk taking, innovative or creative enough. And they don't
think there's as much openness, honesty and collaboration as there
should be.
There are
three things that audience research tells us that particularly concern
me:
Β· With a few obvious exceptions like Radio 1, we underserve the
young - and by that I mean people under-55; and the younger people get,
the more marginal the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ is in their lives.
Β· Ethnic minorities in the United Kingdom disproportionately
don't use our services and don't think we're for them.
Β· Many of our services are still seen as skewed towards the South
of England, which they are.
We need
to address these concerns urgently: Our purpose is public service broadcasting
and that means we must have something to offer all our audiences.
Remember,
everyone pays for the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ, everyone should get something back.
Now we
shouldn't get depressed by all this. We should just decide that
we are going to change it. And by we I don't mean the senior management
- I mean all of us.
We can
change it by changing the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ. We can all play a part in turning the
Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ into a "can do" organisation where we all try to help
to get things done rather than tell people why they can't be done.
We can make the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ an exciting and vibrant place where everybody wants
to work.
In the
nineties, believe it or not, one of the stated aims of the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ was "to
be the best-managed organisation in the public sector". I have
to admit that wouldn't have got me out of bed in the morning. So
let's forget that and agree that our aim today is very different.
So let
me offer you a new vision. We want the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ to be the most creative organisation
in the world. And I don't just mean in the production and programme
areas, I mean right across the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ, everywhere Β– and that includes
the commercial parts of the organisation. 20 per cent of our staff now
work in these areas and they are as important to the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ as any other.
We are, after all, One Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ.
So how
do we make that happen? How do we become the most creative organisation
in the world? That's a question that the all of us on the Executive
Committee have been asking ourselves - and I now want to share our thinking
with you and, more important, enlist your help.
The first
task is to understand audiences better and reach those we're not
appealing to. We need to ensure that we are not only meeting their hopes
and expectations but that we're exceeding them. It also means we
need to communicate better with them, which is one of the reasons why
we've put a new emphasis on focused marketing and communications.
We need to get our messages through and to shift what people think of
the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ.
The second
task, which arguably is inseparable from the first, is to make sure
that we're the most innovative and risk taking place there is -
and that will mean giving people the right to fail, encouraging new
ideas in every part of the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ and really changing some of the ways
we work.
So today
we're launching a big idea right across the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ and we're
calling it ONE Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ - MAKING IT HAPPEN. Before your hearts sink at the
thought of yet another stream of paper and boxes to tick, let me tell
you what this isn't. It's not a management consultant style
set of navel-gazing task forces, that produce reams of paper and not
a lot else. Neither is it a collection point for complaints and whinges.
It's not another piece of bureaucracy.
Every member
of the Executive team is committed to Making it Happen and every one
of us will be involved personally.
We've
identified seven areas where we think change will make a difference
and we're asking experienced people from different parts of the
Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ to lead a Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ-wide programme of change based around these seven
ideas. They are:
Inspire
creativity everywhere
Leader: Helen Boaden (Controller Radio 4)
Β· creativity is the lifeblood of the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ
Β· we want new and big ideas from all parts of the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ -
HR and finance are as important as programmes
Β· encourage risk-taking
Β· collaborate
Connect
with all audiences
Leader: Jane Root (Controller Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ TWO)
Β· problems with some audiences - young (under 55),
ethnic groups, too South East
Β· who are they? what do they want? how do we provide that - and
more
Β· Radio 1's sending a team to Bradford to find out why listening
was down
Β· Not patronising. Not talking down. It's about connecting.
Those two
are the main ones. The other five are the things we've got to do
to help achieve them.
Value people
Leader: Jerry Timmins (Head of Americas, World Service)
Β· The Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ's greatest asset is you, the people who work here,
but you don't always believe it
Β· Good example - the Gillard Awards
Β· Help people develop and advance
Β· say thank you and well done
Β· Help each other achieve success
WE are
the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ
Leader: Roger Mosey (Head of Television News)
Β· People talk about "them." - their fault
Β· There is no "them". It's us.
Β· Example - Politics Conference. The decision makers were there!
Β· We, all of us, should be the best ambassadors for the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ
Just do
it!
Leader: Sara Geater (Director of Rights and Business Affairs)
Β· Too much paper. Too many meetings. Too much "can't
do"
Β· Executive team's decision to scrap pointless meetings.
Β· Ask, "was that worth having?" If not, kill it.
Β· turn the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ into a "can do" organisation.
Β· Be bold, but use your common sense. Don't break the law,
don't bankrupt the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ or take health and safety risks.
Lead more,
manage less
Leader: Andy Griffee (Controller, English Regions)
Β· Leadership is key
Β· Management isn't about control Β– it's about
leadership.
Β· The Executive team will spend more time getting out there,
Β· Be human beings, enjoy yourselves, get out and about,
talk to your people
Make great
spaces
Leader: Shar Nebhrajani ( Head of Finance, New Media)
Β· People work better in exciting and creative environments
Β· Decent conditions mean people feel cared for
Β· Boring buildings, colours, carpets, dull pictures, no fun
Β· John Smith and his team asked people to come up with ideas
for making their
space better. He got 1,200 ideas from 3,000 replies
So they
are the seven teams and the seven leaders. In the next few months these
teams will talk to as many people as possible and come up with great
proposals for change and then, make them happen. And we are looking
for quick wins, so that people can see things changing immediately,
as well as longer term ideas.
We also
want every part of the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ to carry out their own work on Making it
Happen. Each division will have its own team made up of a wide range
of people so that everyone - from all parts of the division - will have
a chance to contribute. And I would also ask that people in every team
in the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Β– be it at Watchdog, Radio Leicester or outside broadcasts
Β– discuss how we make this place better, how we make it exciting,
how do we ensure that the cynics and moaners in the organisation Β–
and they're there in all big organisations Β– are marginalized.
In short how do we cut the crap and make it happen?
To help
me I've had a yellow card printed which says on it "cut the
crap and make it happen" which I plan to bring out at every meeting
when someone is trying to stop a good idea rather than make it happen.
We'll send one to anyone who wants one.
We have
asked Susan Spindler, one of the creators of Walking with Dinosaurs,
Animal Hospital and The Human Body, to be the project director of One
Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ - Making it Happen. She will lead a small team which will provide
support, information, act as a collection point for ideas, suggestions
and solutions. They'll let everyone know what's happening
so that we can learn from one another, discuss problems and come up
with joint solutions. It's important to understand they're
catalysts, not a bunch of bureaucrats.
Now having
said all that, I'm a practical sort of person and a bit impatient
too and I get nervous when I can't offer concrete examples of what
I mean. So we asked one of our young film makers Nicky Pattison to find
out about some of the groundbreaking things that are already happening
across the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ. She discovered some great things.
Tape: (Blackburn
Open Centre, Hull Broadband trial, Radio X, Scottish Soap, CΒι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ launches,
White City Atrium opening)
What I
still don't understand... Is why DID everyone have to wear those
hard builders' hats if we only needed a door and a ramp?
There were
two things in that film we've just seen that would not be happening
if we hadn't taken money out of overheads and put it in to programmes
- the new Scottish soap and the two new children's channels launching
on Monday. So that part of One Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ is working.
Now this
is the most important thing I'm going to say today.
This isn't
my project or the Executive's project, or even Susan Spindler's
project, In fact it's wrong to even call it a project. It's
much more important than that. It belongs to all of us who want to change
this place for the better and without your ideas it simply won't
work.
So I'd
like to set every one of you who is watching today a challenge. Ask
yourself "is there one thing I can do to make a difference?"
Don't just think it, do it!
If we all
do that we can start to change this place right now.
And I'll
give everyone an assurance. If you decide to get something done in the
interests of Making it Happen, in the real interest of improving the
Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ for the people who work here and for the audiences out there, I'll
back you - even if it goes wrong. We have to learn to accept that if
we want more risk taking, people will try lots of things and some won't
work.
That's
it then, that's the speech. Not quite Fidel length but not bad.
Just remember between all of us we can really make this place buzz and
if we do that we'll make great programmes and deliver great services.
