John, a respected professional with many years' experience in the classical music world, was asked to assess the potential for savings to contribute to the BBC's financial challenge, following the most recent Licence Fee settlement. He was given unrestricted access to the groups and invited to scrutinise funding arrangements and operations, and compare them to the wider orchestral sector.

Today we are publishing John Myerscough's report and outlining our savings plan for the performing groups, which draws from the report's findings but is also informed by a range of internal and external viewpoints.

John's report recognises that the groups are a core part of the BBC's public service remit and that each one plays a unique role in British cultural life, delivering high-quality performances of distinctive repertoire and supporting education and outreach projects. It also shows that they have increased their impact and performance in recent years and have already achieved levels of efficiency that compare favourably with other orchestras. Finally, it acknowledges that any savings plan must preserve the groups' quality and distinctiveness, and minimise the impact on audiences. This follows the principles of all the DQF savings plans, which have aimed to protect 'content' spend as far as possible.

We considered the option of closing one of the groups, but concluded that this could not be achieved without significant loss of value to audiences, which would be at odds with our DQF strategy. In John's words, this approach "would be inconsistent with the Corporation's editorial needs." We are, therefore, not proposing the closure of a performing group.

However, we have identified a plan which delivers substantial savings by renewing the 'creative vision' for the Performing Groups. In clarifying the unique role and purpose of each group and reshaping their operations accordingly, we agree with John's analysis that we can "achieve greater effectiveness, fit and flexibility" and achieve considerable savings while "fostering quality and distinctiveness".

More specifically, this approach reduces costs by: modifying the number of contracted staff in each group to match more closely their output; introducing some session-based contracts to achieve simpler operation and more flexibility; modernising some work practices to encourage flexibility and value for money; and lowering administration costs further by sharing functions, especially among the three London groups and the Proms. Limited increase in box office revenue, while ensuring we retain distinctiveness, also contributes to the plan.

In adopting this strategy, we believe we can achieve savings of up to 10% of the groups' total budget and have identified potential savings of at least £2.1 million per annum by 2016/17. As the report says, a savings plan of this nature "should be achievable but it will not be easy". Further, it is clear that if we were to attempt another round of cost-cutting at this level, we would have to close one of the groups.

This will be a challenging period for everyone associated with the performing groups and the discussions about how best to apply the changes will continue with staff and unions. However, I hope that we now have a clear sense of how the groups can contribute to the BBC's financial challenge while protecting their quality and preserving each one's unique role in British cultural life.

You can read the report here.

Tim Davie is the Director of BBC Audio & Music

It's been quite a journey, but following the progress we've made this year, I was very pleased to see the BBC's success at last night's Stonewall Awards.

• Entertainer of the Year: Jane Hazlegrove (Casualty, BBC1)
• Broadcast of the Year: The World's Worst Place to be Gay (BBC3)
• Journalist of the Year: Vanessa Feltz (Radio 2, Daily Express, BBC London) shared with Matthew Todd (Attitude)

Of course, the BBC has a responsibility to reflect and celebrate the diversity of British society in all the content that we make and broadcast. We've been working to improve this representation since we conducted and published the research, but these awards reinforce my belief that we are heading in the right direction.

Please join me in congratulating the winners at the BBC and across the industry.

Today we are making public a report which looks at potential synergies and savings within Radio 1, Radio 2, 6 Music and 1Xtra.

Last year, I asked John Myers - CEO of the Radio Academy and one of the most respected figures in the radio industry - to review how our popular music stations are run and how they work together. The key challenge was to identify possible ways of sensibly reducing costs while protecting the quality of our programmes.

The findings of the report will help us with our current planning as we look to save costs. John's extensive experience in commercial radio meant he could take an informed and objective view of our operations...

Read the rest of Tim Davie's blog post and download John Myers' review (as a PDF) on the BBC Radio blog...

 

As the most comprehensive piece of research ever carried out in this area by the BBC and perhaps any other media organisation, it was not without trepidation that I took on this project. The portrayal of LGB audiences can be a polarising issue for many but I have a strong belief in the importance of fully understanding all of our audiences and in turn reflecting and celebrating that diversity in all the content that we make and broadcast. That is the reason why we commissioned this study and why in the past two years we have also commissioned studies and research on disability and how our audiences outside of London feel that are represented across BBC television, radio and online.

The BBC worked with research companies 2CV and Kanter Media to develop this study and we interviewed or surveyed 2,000 people from across the UK. To ensure that all voices and views were heard, we talked and listened not only to lesbian, gay and bisexual people – those who are already out, those who have just come out and those who were still dealing with the challenges and fears about their own sexual identity – but also heterosexual people. And again we subdivided – heterosexual people who were comfortable with portrayal; heterosexual people with children of various ages and people who were uncomfortable with any portrayal at all.

All of the participants of this nationally representative sample were given the same stimulus – both video and audio clips of content from a range of broadcasters – and were asked the same questions covering a broad range of topics. These included the level of portrayal, authenticity, humour and language, intimacy, talent and genre. We complemented this substantial study with a public consultation online, which took place online and yielded 9,400 responses. We published the full results of both the research and consultation online.

We’ve published the full results of the study on the ‘About the BBC’ site, so I won’t detail each and every finding here, but to paint a broad picture let me begin by saying that many of the people who participated were surprised with the level and quality of existing portrayal across both the BBC’s services and that of other broadcasters. The BBC fares relatively well with its portrayal of LGB people, but there is certainly more to be done. We also found that the clear majority of the UK population are either comfortable with, or do not feel strongly either way about, the portrayal of lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) people.

Naturally, we found that lesbian, gay and bisexual audiences want to see more, and greater diversity within portrayal. We also learned that context is critical to how all audiences perceive the portrayal of LGB people and that intimacy, both emotional and physical, is the primary concern for people who are uncomfortable with LGB portrayal.

This project was not about creating a shopping list, or ticking boxes with our content but there are clear commitments we are taking from this study. First and foremost the BBC has a commitment to achieve accurate and authentic portrayal across all our services. To that end we have already begun to share this research with content teams across the BBC. They need to be aware of the opportunities for both incidental portrayal that reflects LGB audiences in everyday life and more overt, landmark content and have the confidence to reflect the diverse audiences around them. What this research will do is provide the confidence, knowledge and foundation to ensure that creatively - and if it is appropriate in terms of the context and the genre – that LGB inclusion is considered and if it is included that it is authentic. We also commit to review progress following this research and consultation in two years. And finally, the BBC Working Group, of which I am Chair, will monitor on an ongoing basis the implementation of these recommendations on behalf of the BBC Diversity Board.

I want to thank each and every one of the participants across the UK for their time and candour and I look forward to updating you further on our progress in the portrayal of LGB audiences on the BBC.

Tim Davie is the BBC's Director of Audio and Music 

This year, as part of the BBC's diversity strategy, we carried out research and consultation on the portrayal of lesbian, gay and bisexual people across broadcast media including the BBC. Read about the research.

See the BBC Archive's latest collection on the Gay Rights movement.

Read Tim Davie's previous blog post about portraying the LGB community on the BBC.

The advert for the job of Controller of Radio 4 is due to appear over the next few days. It's an important role - the network makes a significant contribution to the news agenda and cultural life of the nation. Like millions of listeners, Radio 4 has been part of my life for many years. When my family lived in the USA, one of my abiding memories is of evenings in deepest Connecticut listening via the internet to Today, the News Quiz or In Our Time. I realised that while I liked much of my US life, I would ultimately want to go home to the country where Radio 4 is a constant companion.

One of the outstanding characteristics of Radio 4 under Mark Damazer's leadership has been its capacity to sustain a buoyant audience without compromising the quality of its programmes. Great creative leaders like Mark have never been lured into choices between popularity and the intellectual high ground. The impressive performance of Radio 4 shows that there is a healthy appetite for intelligent speech radio: pushing our understanding of a wide range of topics, stimulating our curiosity through in-depth analysis and engaging us through passionate exploration. The recent series A History of the World in 100 Objects was not only a landmark set of popular broadcasts but has already chalked up over 2 million podcast downloads worldwide.

It is crucial that the next controller of Radio 4 continues to make brave decisions and adopts an innovative approach to programming. We will be advertising the Controller's job over the next few days and I am sure that we will have a strong list of people interested in taking up this exciting challenge.

Firstly, let me make it clear that, while we have proposed rebranding Radio 7 as Radio 4 Extra, there are no such plans for 6 Music. But I should also explain that the proposals made in the Strategy Review are the first part of a process. The BBC Trust are currently consulting the public on those proposals and nothing will happen until after the consultation is closed.

In my previous blog - here - I outlined the rationale for the closure of 6 Music and said that we will reinvest any funds from the proposed closure of 6 Music in digital radio content. This commitment to digital radio remains and we are looking at a number of ways of doing this. I said we would look at protecting some 6 Music programming by redeploying it elsewhere and considering how we can also do justice to its legacy in areas like new music development. This commitment also remains. But simply rebranding 6 Music as Radio 2 Extra is not one of our plans.

BBC Radio is an essential part of the BBC's mission to inform, educate and entertain. The BBC's Strategy Review was borne out of the need to preserve this mission in a rapidly-changing digital environment, while recognising that the BBC needs to focus its efforts and investment.

So, while we have proposed a strategy based on our traditional principles of making high-quality programmes, we have also acknowledged that we need to do fewer things better.

In radio, we're proposing bold steps to strengthen and simplify our station line-up. I do not believe that offering the current range of nine stand-alone digital networks is the right way to serve audiences and ensure radio remains strong in a digital world. And, while digital radio has seen growth, my concern is that current development remains slow.

So we are proposing to reduce the number of stations and re-invest in our five core networks - Radios 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 live - and extensions of these services, such as 1Xtra and 5 live sports extra, while maintaining our overall investment in digital radio to use in a range of innovative ways to provide listeners with great digital content.

For example, Radio 7 would be developed through closer ties with Radio 4, culminating in the re-branding of the station as Radio 4 Extra. This will offer listeners the best of Radio 7 as well as offering new possibilities, such as extending existing Radio 4 favourites, newly commissioned programmes and more second runs of popular programmes.

But this strategy of focusing efforts on doing fewer things better also means difficult decisions. Clearly we didn't arrive lightly at the decision to recommend the closure of 6 Music: It is distinctive, much loved and I too am passionate about its output. But I believe the best way for us to provide that kind of programming is by looking at other ways to find it a bigger audience. Currently, only one in five adults have heard of it and less than one in 50 listens each week. Yes, we could invest heavily in marketing to try to address this, but my preference is to ensure that money is focussed on unique, high quality radio, not supporting a large number of services.

While we are re-focussing on fewer networks, we will consider how the range of music played on Radio 1, Radio 2 and Radio 3 should adjust to ensure we continue to offer a diverse spectrum of new and UK music as part of our stronger focus on originality and distinctiveness.

I also believe it is essential that, as we re-invest the money currently spent on 6 Music, we protect some of its precious programming by redeploying it elsewhere in BBC Radio and consider how we can also do justice to its legacy in areas like new music development.

The Asian Network has offered a distinctive national service to British Asian audiences since it moved onto a digital platform in 2002. But the increasing plurality and diversity of British Asian audiences are stretching the coherence and relevance of this service, its audience reach is in decline and its cost per listener is high. While the quality of much of its programming is very high, changes in its strategy have led to an inconsistent listening experience and the national station has been less successful at replicating the sense of community which was fundamental to the growth of the original local Asian service. So we have proposed closing the Asian Network as a national service and will be exploring a number of options for redeploying its investment, including replacing it with a network of part-time local services. We believe this would offer listeners a better service - Asian Networks where they're most relevant - closer to audiences and with a mixture of locally tailored and syndicated programmes.

I know that there is real sadness that we are losing valued services, but this is part of a strategy to ensure BBC Radio continues to be as relevant and popular as ever in the digital world.

I am confident that these proposals are the right way for us to deliver our mission, but it's also right that licence fee payers get to have their say. That's why the BBC Trust exists: to ensure you get a chance to input before final decisions are made.

Tim Davie is Director, BBC Audio & Music

We will talk to audiences up and down the UK so that we get the widest range of views and opinions about how they think we're portraying LGB people across everything we do; whether it's television, radio or online

We'll ask people their views on language, tone, stereotyping, on screen talent, humour and scheduling to name just a few areas, and I'm sure will uncover many others that will deepen our understanding of you.

This is the most comprehensive piece of research ever carried out in this area by the BBC and we're doing it because, as a public service broadcaster, we have a responsibility to serve all of our audiences and it's vital that we reflect the differences among all of the UK's diverse communities, nations and regions.

The work- which is being conducted by research agency 2CV who have experience in in-depth audience research - will be supported by an online questionnaire which you will find at http://www.perceptor.com/perceplive/survey/bbc_lgb_portrayal. This questionnaire is open for anyone to answer and we are actively encouraging as many people as possible to participate and have their views recorded.

Additionally throughout the process we'll be in contact with LGB community organisations across the UK. In this way, through the research, via the online questionnaire and engaging with grass-root organisations we will hear from as many voices as possible.

This work is being driven by a pan-BBC Working Group on Portrayal and Inclusion of Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Audiences, which I chair. It was set up last year to examine how we portray this section of our diverse audience - in part because we know that LGB communities are concerned about how they are portrayed in the media - but also because the licence fee and our public purposes means it is our job to reflect the diversity of the nation and to do that well.

The remit of this working group reflects our overall diversity strategy and builds on similar work we have carried out in recent years with other distinct audience groups.

For example, last year we conducted audience research looking at disability portrayal and we are currently looking at regional audiences - all as part of our ongoing commitment to serve all licence-fee payers.

As part of an ongoing conversation we have with our audiences on a range of issues and topics we want and expect it to make a difference.

When the research findings are delivered this summer I think we can expect an in-depth - and perhaps surprising - reflection of your range of views on how we're serving you.

The findings will be embedded in programme making at the BBC - made available to all programme makers, commissioners and other key decision makers at the BBC to ensure that when we make editorial decisions that there is continued consideration of LGB storylines or characters based on the best information and research about what audiences want and expect.

We will also make recommendations to the BBC's Diversity Board, chaired by Mark Thompson, and we intend to publish a full report which will be made available widely.

Like all my colleagues on the working group, I am genuinely excited about the prospect of getting to that stage.

We are aware that people may have strong views, both positively and negatively, about how the BBC is portraying the LGB community across our services and that's why it's so important to hear what you're thinking. Only in this way can the BBC be part of a real step change in delivering accurate, authentic portrayals of LGB people's lives.

I look forward to sharing the research when it's complete. Until then I encourage you all to get involved, click on the link below and tell us what you think.

Click here to complete the questionnaire.