BBC 'to Cut £20m from Marketing Budget'

The BBC is cutting £20m from the budget of its £100m Marketing, Communications and Audiences (MC&A) division, according to reports in the Guardian newspaper.

The unit is headed by former Microsoft General Manager Sharon Baylay, who leads more than 400 staff responsible for marcoms and audience research. According to The Guardian (www.guardian.co.uk ), licence fee-payers will see an immediate reduction in on-air promotions and billboard campaigns as a result of the cuts. Further cuts over the next three years will see the budget reduced by 25% in real terms.

In response to this latest news, a BBC spokesperson said: 'No organisation is immune from the financial crisis so we are scrutinising all of our spending. Whilst it's important we do communicate and explain the services we offer, we have already reduced spend on MC&A and we do intend to go significantly further still in cutting costs.'

The cuts are part of savings ordered by the BBC Director General, Mark Thompson, who last month said that a further £400m needed to be saved by over the next three years to balance its books.

Web site: www.bbc.co.uk .

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.