There have been various stories in the press this week speculating about proposals emerging from '', which is our wide-ranging consultation with all ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ staff on how the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ should deliver the highest quality programmes and services under our new licence fee settlement.

I understand that some of these stories may sound drastic so I want to explain the process and where we've got to so far.

The has challenged the senior managers overseeing this work to think radically about what the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ should look like in six years time, what our priorities should be and what we should do less of. And they've done that. But at this stage, the outcomes of these discussions are still just ideas.

I can assure you no decisions have been made yet and none of the ideas currently being explored will definitely happen. Equally, I can't rule anything out and we are still welcoming further suggestions.

We won't be giving a running commentary on every speculative idea - but I want to be clear that our commitment to quality content as well as value for money is running right through this process.

On the subject of local radio, it's important to remember that representing the UK's regions and communities is one of the . With the rest of the local news sector at increasing risk of market failure, the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳'s contribution to local journalism is more important now than ever. However, that doesn't mean we shouldn't be looking at the most effective way of delivering it.

As part of last year's , we looked hard at our local services, making our networks more distinctive, increasing the amount of news and speech programming and investing in local journalism. Reach for our local services has risen recently and the question now is, how can we take this further within a ?

And regarding sports rights, we need to remember that delivering great sporting moments to the audience unites the nation. This weekend, viewing of the Calcutta Cup game between England and Scotland peaked at 8 million viewers and the received 3.9 million visitors on the day of the England v France game.

Looking ahead, the plan is to bring the proposals from all the staff consultations together and test them against out public purposes and priorities. These will then be shared with staff before the final proposals are submitted to the for its approval in July. The ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Trust will consult the public before any final decisions are made.

I can't pretend there aren't difficult choices and some painful decisions to be made but I'm hopeful that by thinking radically and being transparent about the process the decisions we make will be in the best interests of the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ and our audiences.

Caroline Thomson is the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳'s Chief Operating Officer

The ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ has always created and embraced emerging technologies to remain relevant. Text based journalism, through Ceefax, didn't really feature in the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ until the late 1970s, which later evolved into ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Red Button and the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ News website, the backbone of ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Online. Today, ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Online gives us a foothold in the connected digital age, and with 26 million users each week, it's a broadly adopted and very popular service.

So what role should ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Online play as we plan for the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳'s future in a complex, changing global media landscape? The principles and purposes that served us for the last 80 years remain unchanged; as a public service broadcaster, the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳'s appeal needs to be broad. The internet age has not changed what we're for, but has changed the way we do it. Without the natural limitations of broadcasting spectrum it's easy to lose focus. Couple this with the lack of a single unified, online strategy, you get sprawl - which amounts to patchy quality and a loss of identity.

This underpins our approach to ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Online in Putting Quality First, a wide-ranging review of the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳'s strategy, announced last March. It was approved by the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Trust in December. Today, the Trust have announced their approval of our plans for ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Online, and we've been talking to staff about what this is going to mean for them, as well as explaining to the press what this means for the public.

A New Approach
This is about reducing the scale and scope of ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Online, to focus the site on our five editorial priorities - halving the number of top-level directories and delivering a 25% reduction in budget by 2013. The relationship with the wider industry is also important. Focus creates clarity on what ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Online will and won't do - and we'll be taking a more open approach on what we are doing, engaging with industry twice a year about our plans. Plus, we'll double the number of referrals we send to third-party websites.

Doing Fewer Things, Better
When I last about our plans in the Summer, I outlined how we intend to move from building one-off websites to managing products and some were unsure as to what I meant by a product.

Products are the common currency in many businesses - it's how they package what they do to make them distinctive, competitive and attractive to customers. But it's not the common currency at the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ and the commercial connotations are at odds with the clear public purposes enshrined in programmes, the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳'s currency.

and are two of our most popular websites, and it's no coincidence that they are run as products already. Each has a clear sense of purpose and identity, each has a clear sense of what its audience wants from it and meets that audience need. Each combine our distinctive editorial voice with great technology and design. It's this partnership and focus that makes them successful, so we want to capture this in everything we do.

Products also explain how we'll be reorganising ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Online. They become the reference point for budgets, targets and objectives, and lines of accountability. Each will have a converged technology and editorial team working in partnership at a product level.

Product is is not a word that we expect audiences to start using, but it does explain how we applied boundaries to the service as a whole, created a single, united strategy for the first time, and reorganised how we operate to make it a better service for audiences.

Maximising Distinctivenes

This morning Mark Thompson launched a consultation with staff on how the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ can deliver the highest quality programmes and content to audiences to the end of the Charter in 2017.

He said:

"The ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ is being realistic taking prompt action to make sure it meets future funding limits, while continuing to aim to devote 90 per cent of spending on content and getting it to the public.

"Rather than imposing these efficiency savings and reductions in a top down manner we are asking people who work at the front line to say how these can best be achieved.

"The tough but realistic settlement we achieved gives us certainty of funding for six years. However, the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ is not immune to the economic climate and it will require tough decisions to achieve these savings."

You can read more about .

Bridget Middleton is the Editor of About the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳

"As outlined in March's , there are changes coming for ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Online. A proposed 25% cut in spend by 2013, and a rationalisation of 400 websites to make way for fewer, clearly-defined, products will impact audiences and the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ itself.

External suppliers to ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Online, critical to the success of the service, will naturally be thinking about what this means for them, and it's important that we are clear".

Jonathan Kingsbury, Head of External Supply for ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Future Media & Technology

To read Jonathan's blog post in full and to leave a comment, head over to the .

Laura Murray is Editor of the About the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Blog

has been a hot topic since we announced the proposal to close the network in the Strategy Review. The speculation about its future took a new twist over the weekend with that claimed that the network is set to be rebranded as Radio 2 Extra.

Firstly, let me make it clear that, while we have proposed rebranding 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. on those proposals and nothing will happen until after the consultation is closed.

In my previous blog - - 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.

I am giving evidence to the House of Lords Select Committee today about the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳'s strategy review - . I've spent a lot of time preparing for the session and - as part of that - I've been reminding myself about one of our key considerations in making the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ more mission-focused: the impact on the rest of the broadcasting
industry.

For decades the UK has enjoyed higher levels of domestic media production and content spending per head than almost any other country in the world. UK audiences have grown up expecting and receiving a constant diet of extremely high-quality domestic content, whether two-hour episodes of or seminal natural history like - all without a subscription and, on the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳, without advertising.

While extensive high quality output available to all has been considered normal in the UK, one glance at schedules abroad shows it to be anything but in other parts of the world. In the two longest-developed broadcasting markets, the United States and Europe, very different traditions dominate. Much of European broadcasting has gone down the 'cheap and cheerful' route, with content spend focused increasingly efficiently on what drives audiences to adverts, while in the US a higher level of programme investment is maintained only through highly selective subscriber packages.

Is it inevitable we will end up going down either the European or US route? There has after all been a great deal of attention focused on the troubles facing public service broadcasting in the UK because of structural change in the industry. And the recession has increased further the pressure on budgets for original UK content.

A fact often lost in the debate is that billions of pounds of new money are flowing into the sector - it's just that this extra money isn't flowing back into domestic content production as much as it did in the past. This is primarily because commercial funding for TV is increasingly coming from subscription. Pay operators do not invest in original content at anything like the levels that advertising-funded broadcasters do, because their business model is more weighted to sports rights and films.

The ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ of course has a very different funding model which, as is so often pointed out, insulates our income against the worst of the recession. But more importantly, the security of our funding reinforces why the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ exists and must focus on its mission to provide quality British programmes that inform, educate and entertain. And in delivering our mission, we not only serve the public and help maintain the standards which are an essential part of British broadcasting, we support the creative industry as a whole.

And that's the very purpose of : to identify what more the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ can do to enhance our commitment to high quality programming - because that's the centre of our mission and, in delivering it, we bring wider benefits to the UK's creative industry.

That's why we have pledged that in the next licence fee settlement period we will guarantee that at least 90p in every licence fee pound will be spent on the creation and delivery of content to audiences. We know this investment is essential to meet the expectations and demands of licence fee payers. That's why we have set out five editorial priorities so the public and the independent producers know what to expect from the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ and we've capped our spending on sports rights and acquisitions from abroad. And that's why we aim to reduce spend on overheads to under 9p in every pound by the end of the Charter period in 2016 - costs reduced by a quarter from today's spend of 12p.

The ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ is committed to putting more money into content and making sure quality stays at the forefront of the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳'s output. And through this commitment to quality content, we will be doing our part to ensure that high standards survive in the future UK broadcasting market - good news or the domestic media industry, for the economy as a whole, and most
importantly, for our audiences.

John Tate,
Director of Policy and Strategy, ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳

This is a short post to say, very simply, thank you. I've had a chance to catch up on your comments this morning and I am really grateful to so many of you for taking the time to get in touch.

Having set out proposals which included closing some much-loved services, I am not surprised that some of our plans have provoked a strong reaction. From what I've read, I don't see there's much I can add to what I've said previously about specific proposals linked to or the or what my colleagues and have posted over the week.

But I would like to reinforce a few points about the overall strategy - as I think it's really important people do not lose sight of the fact that our plans are about safeguarding the future of the whole ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳. Because the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳'s contribution to UK culture and society is bigger than the sum of its parts.

As a public institution we have a very clear public mission which we must fulfil to justify our existence. For us to be confident and ambitious into the digital future, we must be consistent in delivering that mission. And after a very comprehensive piece of work, I am convinced we need to make some changes to how we operate to guarantee consistency in the future.

Whilst I believe our proposals are right, it is also absolutely right that the people who own and pay for the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ get their say before final decisions are made.

Now is your opportunity to get involved. The ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Trust - our governing body - wants your input so they can take it into account when judging our proposals. We will forward your comments to the Trust, but if you really want to be heard you should also visit their site and complete .

As I said in :

"My ambition is for us to become more confident and proud of the fact that we exist to be different. Our purpose is not to make money, it is to enrich people's lives by capturing the essence of Britain today and making sure everyone can access excellence in programmes and content whoever they are."

And my ambition is for the whole ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ to be held up as meeting this vision, not just bits of it. The proposals I set out on Tuesday are just the start of an exciting new chapter for the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳.

There has been a huge amount of online discussion about the since Tuesday's announcement, much of it around the proposal to close . I would like to explain the thinking behind this proposal and the plans for the , but it's important to explain them in the context of the wider strategy.

is an essential part of the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳'s mission to inform, educate and entertain. The ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳'s Strategy Review was borne out of the need to preserve this mission in a rapidly-changing digital environment, while recognising that the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ 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 , , , and - and extensions of these services, such as and , 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, would be developed through closer ties with , 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 ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ 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 ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ 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 ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Trust exists: .

Tim Davie is Director, ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Audio & Music

Thank you for all your comments both on t, and elsewhere. I'm John Tate, the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳'s Director of Policy and Strategy, and I'd like to take this opportunity to answer the main questions and concerns that seem to be emerging, outlined below. We'll be commenting more over the coming days across the , but here are some initial thoughts from me.

Why is the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ doing this strategy review at all? What's the point?

Mark Thompson outlined the purpose behind the strategy review in , where he said:

"The ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ has one mission: to inform, educate and entertain audiences with programmes and services of high quality, originality and value. That is not for debate. What today is about is how we are going to deliver that mission.

"My ambition is for us to become more confident and proud of the fact that we exist to be different. Our purpose is not to make money, it is to enrich people's lives by capturing the essence of Britain today and making sure everyone can access excellence in programmes and content, whoever they are."

The external environment has changed radically over the last two years, with explosive growth in digital, platforms converging, big changes in audience behaviour and a commercial sector facing real strain and new pressures.

We felt it was the right moment to take a hard look at what the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ should be doing and where it delivers the most value.

The strategy we outlined yesterday focuses the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ on putting quality programming first, with a smaller and more focused ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ that does fewer things better, leaving space for others with clearer limits. And we'll focus on areas that build overall public value, and that are most at risk of being ignored or under-invested in elsewhere.

We are proposing changes that will put the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ in a stronger position to deliver the kind of high quality and distinctive programmes we exist to provide, free at the point of use.

The ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ stated yesterday that the strategy review was "Putting Quality First", and yet a great demonstration of quality, 6 Music is to be cut. How is this justified and not contradictory?

Many of you are passionate about radio, and proposed changes to and the have provoked strong reaction.

I spoke about this issue today on and you can listen to my answers .

In addition , will be blogging on proposals for ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Radio networks .

Discussion has also centred on the future of the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳'s web presence. If Digital is the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳'s 3rd platform alongside TV and radio for future, why are we cutting the site?

Online is very much part of the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳'s future - the bottom line is that we remain absolutely committed to the web as our third platform alongside TV and Radio. Whereas ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ TV and Radio have natural boundaries, currently these don't really exist on the web. After a period of rapid expansion online, now is the right moment for us to re-focus and re-prioritise.

Precisely because online is so important, it must meet the same thresholds of quality and effectiveness as our other services. It's about imposing a clear remit on ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Online, and re-shaping the service with a stronger focus on the five editorial priorities (the best journalism; inspiring knowledge, music and culture; ambitious UK drama and comedy; outstanding children's content; and events that bring communities and the nation together): doing less but doing it better. This will re-balance ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Online with an emphasis on high quality, distinctive content and services which provide greater, long-term value to the audience

It's also about ensuring that it can introduce to people the best of what's available inside the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ AND across the web.

Keep an eye out on the for more detail on this in the coming weeks.

Political implications have also come up - whether these proposals are to pre-empt the election and a possible Conservative government, and whether this is simply a political move. Are they?

The strategy we're announcing today is rooted in a really clear vision of what the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ is here to do, and the value it delivers every day to audiences here and around the world.

As I said at the start of this post, we are proposing changes that will put the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ in a stronger position to deliver the kind of high quality and distinctive programmes we exist to provide, free at the point of use, underlining our core mission: to inform, educate and entertain.

We began work on this review last June and it is the result of many months work.

As I mentioned earlier, the past 18 months has forced everyone to think very carefully about the balance of the media sector and where we can add the most value.

You announced yesterday that the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ would be reallocating £600m - how and where will this money be spent?

We announced proposals yesterday to reprioritise nearly £600m of existing licence fee funding into programmes and activity that will increase the quality of our programmes in the 5 priority areas we've been discussing here.

Of this £600m, almost £400m of funding will come from existing service licence and genre budgets, and will be spent in new ways to drive higher quality content in local radio, ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ One, Two and Four, Children's programming, Radio 2, and the revised budget for Online. A further £100m will be raised by reducing the running costs of the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳, and through continuing efficiencies, while the final £100m will come from service closures and by reducing spend on ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Online and acquisitions.

Another question coming up is why the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ does not further reduce spend on management pay, rather than cut services - why don't you?

We are committing to reducing the cost of running of ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ and the amount we spend on infrastructure projects so we can spend more on content. First of all, 10 years ago, the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ spent ¼ of the licence fee on running the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳. We have halved that to 12p in the pound today, and the strategy review pledges to cut that by a further ¼ to 9p by the end of the current Charter.

We are already taking tough action on reducing senior management pay - these proposals recommend a combination of both. We've already committed to dropping senior management headcount by 18%, and their pay bill by 25%, and executive pay has been frozen, and bonuses suspended.

Mad Men, The Wire and other US imports are some of the best programmes on TV, and fall into that high quality drama category highlighted in the review. Why are these going when they add so much value?

The proposals are not about individual shows but the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳'s future focus - there will always be a place in ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ schedules for high quality programming and distinctive acquired programming.
.
There is an expectation that the licence fee should be spent on the best UK originated programming - what the majority of our audiences watch, listen to, and love. There are some distinctive things we will want to acquire, including international documentaries, foreign language films, and uninterrupted family films at special moments of the year such as Christmas Day, as well as selected high quality series. By cutting spend on acquisitions by 20%, we will invest more on original UK programming for our 5 editorial priorities outlined above.

Lastly, it's worth reminding you that the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Strategy Review proposals are now with , where they will undergo a public consultation. This will run until May 25 2010, after which the Trust will look at all the submissions which they have received, including those from the public and industry, alongside other research and analysis which they will carry out. The Trust will then form a final view on what the future strategic framework for the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ ought to be, and will aim to provide a provisional view of their conclusions this summer and a final strategy in the autumn.

Anyone can participate, and full details are available

Today I'm going to set out the conclusions of a piece of strategic thinking we've done over the past few months. We're calling it 'Putting quality first'. Last summer, and I in the second half of the Charter from 2012 to 2016.

You may have read plenty of speculation of some of the specific recommendations of this review. This morning I will be giving clarity on the detail, but also putting the review in the proper context. The proper context is not: how big should the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ be? The right question is: what is the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ for? Get the answer to that right and everything else - editorial priorities, size and scope, role online - everything else flows from it.

The ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ has one mission: to inform, educate and entertain audiences with programmes and services of high quality, originality and value. That is not up for debate. What today is about is how we are going to deliver that mission.

The external environment has changed beyond recognition over the last two years - explosive growth in digital, big changes in audience behaviour and a commercial sector facing real strain and new pressures. It is exactly because the media is changing so fast that we must articulate our public service mission and our values more clearly and consistently than ever before. We must explore new ways of delivering our mission - and of ensuring that the benefits of digital can be enjoyed by all. There can be no turning back on our digital journey.

We therefore have to change how we deliver and fulfil our core purpose. But these reasons alone do not explain why we will today set-out our new strategy. The ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ needs to acknowledge that we must also change the way we behave and act. As broadcasters and newspapers bump into each other online and on other platforms the strain has increased.

We also have to recognise the profound challenges facing much of commercial media. And that, while some attacks made on the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ are destructive and baseless, others represent legitimate concern about the boundaries of what we do, and about our future public service and commercial ambitions. We need to listen more closely than we have in the past to these. We have not always been clear enough about our boundaries or recognising where the market should lead. We now need to create more space for others. We can't do everything and, after years of expansion of our home services, we propose some reductions.

Our new strategy addresses all these issues. Firstly and most importantly, it will bring an unprecedented focus on high-quality programmes. Quality is our raison d'être. The ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ exists to deliver to audiences in the UK and around the world, programmes and content of real quality and value - content which audiences would never enjoy if the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ did not exist.

We will refocus licence fee investment around five clear priorities: the best ; inspiring knowledge, and ; ambitious UK and ; outstanding content; and events that bring communities and the nation together. We will focus on the areas which most clearly build public value and which are most at risk of being ignored or under-invested in by commercial players.

The ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ will live or die by the quality of its programmes and content. We will retain an unswerving, unwavering, unflagging focus on quality. To ensure we do, we are committing to unprecedented investment in high-quality, original UK content. We will do this in part by reducing the cost of running the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ and reducing spending on programmes from abroad. Carefully selected acquisitions are valued by audiences but our priority is original, UK content.

We will also deliver a more focused ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ doing fewer things better and leaving space for others by setting clearer boundaries. It will pledge new ways of guaranteeing access to licence fee payers to see and hear our content first and for free. And we will deliver greater value by making the licence fee work harder for the wider economy.

But the strategy review will only be a start. I want things to change further at the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳. My ambition is for us to become more confident and proud of the fact that we exist to be different. Our purpose is not to make money, it is to enrich people's lives by capturing the essence of Britain today and making sure everyone can access excellence in programmes and content whoever they are.

Some critics will always say this is not enough and will never stop in trying to further erode the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ - they will be disappointed by what we have announced today. Our loyalty and prime responsibility will always be to our audiences - we know they want a strong ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳, clear about its purpose and delivering services they love, value and can be proud of.

Following Friday's article in entitled '³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ signals an end to era of expansion' there's been a flurry of activity both in the press and online speculating on the possible findings of the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳'s Strategy Review and where any cuts might fall.

The major newspapers tended to repeat the main message of the Times' article with the Telegraph reporting, , the Guardian stating: while went with '³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ surrenders to commercial pressure to prune its services'. Similar reports appeared amongst many online press, music and media journals such as the , , and while both and the itself reported the growing chance of industrial action.

The key issue that piqued interest was the possible closure of . Later that day the Guardian reported the growing... 'Opposition to closure threat regarding 6 Music' and the following day presenter Phil Jupitus contributed a piece headlined: .

The Guardian also emphasising the political aspects of the news with although by today the story was, . Meanwhile the Times returned to the subject via its business pages saying: .

Editorially, The Times described the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ as and the Guardian and Observer typically invited comment from, amongst others , , and amongst others, as well as a piece stating that, Meanwhile there was a surge of interest in as well as .

By this morning the story was being looked at in more depth by , while Patrick Foster again returned to the subject .

There will be a large amount of discussion and speculation around this particular subject over the next few days. It's worth noting that, as well as issuing an , we have just re-launched the which will be publishing all the announcements on the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳'s Strategy Review and will also be providing links to, and coverage of conversations on the topic.

I'm speaking later today at the Oxford Media Convention about how the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ can best support our creative industries where I will be outlining the key findings of a new report into our economic value.

The study, carried out by and published in the coming weeks, will show that the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ (including its commercial subsidiaries) contributed at least £7.6bn to the UK economy in 2008/09, supporting jobs and generating at least two pounds of economic value for every pound of the licence fee, on top of providing the great quality content that we all enjoy.

The ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳'s raison d'être is providing programmes and content of real value and quality to licence fee payers, and we must never forget this. But in delivering this broader benefits stretch into the digital and creative industries - which in turn spills over into the wider economy.

The report will also show funding through the licence fee is a vital source of stability across the whole UK broadcasting industry as the economy slows.

Key private sector beneficiaries of the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳'s investment include independent production companies who produce around 40 per cent of ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ TV programmes around the UK including , , and .

In our forthcoming Strategy Review we will also explore the potential for spending an even higher proportion of the licence fee on quality content, providing a further shot in the arm for our creative industries.

This new evidence shows the licence fee is a force for good. It provides us with more than just quality programmes - it also boosts UK PLC supporting thousands of jobs and businesses, many of which are in the private sector.

This evidence will ensure that as we focus on creating quality programming we can also think about how best to spread the knock-on economic benefits to local and regional economies, including through our Strategy Review.

The Report will also reveal:
• ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ TV, Radio and Online services each contribute at least £4.5bn, £1bn and £300m respectively to the UK economy each year.
• ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Worldwide and our other commercial operations contribute £866m to the UK economy as well as directly returning profits back to licence fee payers.
• The ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳'s activity in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland contributes £330m, £248m and £131m respectively to the UK economy.
• The ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳'s role in promoting digital markets such as Freeview and digital switchover has helped the process to be completed far earlier than it would have been without the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳. This contribution has led to an extra £95m (up to £250m in some scenarios) created for the UK economy in 2008/09 alone.
• The ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ also plays a critical role in providing training for the media industry. Deloitte estimates that ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ training leads to a benefit of £59m each year of improved productivity to the creative economy.
• ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ activity directly and indirectly supports around 7,000 jobs in Glasgow, Cardiff and Bristol, which creates £200m of economic value that would be lost if the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ was not licence fee funded
• The ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳'s spend on the independent production sector, one of the crown jewels of the UK creative economy, directly generates £867m of economic value. Deloitte estimates that including wider benefits this value could be up to £1.4bn.

Our Strategy Review will bring a laser focus on how to guarantee that quality continues. We will work to ensure that excellent content and benefitting the economy go hand in hand.

However, we also need to go further, be more efficient and secure still better value for money. We are driving down spend on both senior manager pay and talent as the market changes. Whilst we operate in a competitive market and the public tell they do expect top artists on the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳, we are already getting the best for less.

In a tough economic climate, we need to be more conscious of our market 'footprint'. Our Strategy Review will consider issues of the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳'s size and scope carefully. It will define the boundaries. At the same time, it is important to nail the myth the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ only has a negative market impact - in fact, it is very often an important force for good in the economy.