Media: BBC rivals hit out at £110m digital spend
The BBC's commercial rivals have criticised the mismanagement of its digital operations after a review by the BBC Trust revealed that the broadcaster overspent on its budget by almost £36m last year.
According to the review, the BBC's UK web operations cost £110m -
about 48% more than the £74m planned.
Edward Roussel, digital editor of Telegraph Media Group, said the surge
of money that the BBC directed at its website risked threatening
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audience.
'The newspaper industry needs to move at lightning speed into the
digital arena. Britain's newspaper industry will increasingly depend on
digital revenues and audiences,' he said.
He added that the review, in which the BBC Trust said it would not sign
off a planned £39m increase in investment this year, unless
executives showed by November that they had a tighter rein on
bbc.co.uk's finances, highlighted the need for tougher controls at the
corporation.
'The Trust's recommendation is to accept the overspend, integrate it
into the budget and add £4.4m,' said Roussel. 'So the baseline
budget for next year is a 54% increase at a time when the BBC's private
sector rivals are feeling the full whiplash of a global credit crunch.'
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