Independent multimedia producers want the BBC Trust to force BBC executives to commission more content from outside the corporation.
Earlier this month, the trust finished a consultation it performed during a review of a quota, implemented in 2007, which compels the BBC to take 25 percent of its online work to commercial suppliers.
But, in its submission, Pact, the body representing those suppliers, says…
— The proportion has fallen from 31 percent to 26 percent in the last two years…
— That’s £19 million in commissions, out of an eligible £74 million, within BBC online’s £130 million base budget.
— Just over half of the external spend went on content, the rest having gone on technology services.
— “The heart of the problem appears to be a failure in coordination between BBC Vision and FM&T” (the Future Media & Technology division).
— Pact is backing a recent Analysys Mason report which said introducing a 25 percent Window of Creative Competition on top of the 25 percent quota would mean up to a further £30 million in independent online commissions.
The BBC Trust is due to report conclusions of its review this autumn.