Claudia Winkleman’s Strictly Come Dancing replacement could be asked to take a pay cut under a BBC drive to make up to £600m of savings.
With its elaborate staging and costumes, as well as the fees paid to contestants, judges and presenters, the show is one of the BBC’s most expensive to produce, costing an estimated £1m a week.
It is unlikely to be shielded after Tim Davie, the outgoing director-general, said 10 per cent of the BBC’s costs would have to be cut over the next three years.
“If the cuts are to be shared equally, it would mean making savings on Strictly’s sequins as well as other shows,” said a BBC insider.
Programmes could be axed and jobs cut as BBC bosses warned that the number of people paying the licence fee, which rises to £180 in April, was declining faster than forecast. Last year, 300,000 households cancelled their payments.
Davie told staff the BBC was not a “protected species”.
BBC Studios, the broadcaster’s commercial division, which produces hit entertainment shows including Strictly, must make its share of the savings, he said.
The insider said: “The new presenters could start with a pay cut, the judges and dancers too. You would try and avoid savings that can be seen on-screen as viewers will still expect a high-quality show.”
Despite recent scandals, Strictly remains a “jewel in the crown” of the BBC’s entertainment line-up, delivering ratings of seven million viewers, second only to The Traitors.
Bosses hope the new presenting line-up will give the show a fresh feel in its 24th season and its production values will not be compromised.
Strictly’s high production values make it one of the BBC’s most costly shows to make (Photo: Guy Levy/BBC)Strictly salaries could be cut
The BBC does not disclose the pay for Winkleman, departing co-presenter Tess Daly and other presenters paid by BBC Studios, because it considers the information “commercially sensitive”. However, Winkleman is estimated to have been paid up to £400,000 for her Strictly appearances.
Zoe Ball is said to be the frontrunner to take Daly’s Strictly role, with Mel Giedroyc reportedly lined up to replace Winkleman as the co-host who chats to the couples when they await their scores.
Ball was paid up to £520,000 last year for her BBC Radio 2 presenting work but that figure is set to plummet after she gave up her Saturday afternoon show last December.
Strictly contestants are understood to be paid a base fee of £25,000, rising to £75,000 for reaching the semi-finals, with the Glitterball winner receiving a £100,000 bonus.
The professional dancers are paid a fee of £35,000 to £50,000, depending on how far their celebrity partner progresses in the series, it is claimed.
A BBC Studios spokesperson said: “As a commercially funded business, our focus remains on growing value for licence fee payers and maximising returns to the BBC.”
An insider said: “Strictly is a well-funded show and will continue to be. BBC Studios will continue to manage its costs responsibly – and maintaining the high creative standards audiences expect across all our productions, including Strictly, remains a priority.”
Imposing significant cuts on BBC Studios’ budget would be counter-productive, another figure said. BBC Studios delivered record revenues of £2.2bn last year, from backing hits including Bluey.
Profits from BBC Studios’ stake in global children’s hit Bluey, including merchandise sales, help bolster the licence fee (Photo: BBC Studios)The Government’s Green Paper on the BBC’s future said increasing commercial revenues would “ease the burden on the public” and help reduce reliance on the licence fee. “The more you cut Studios, the less money the BBC gets back to invest in programmes,” one staffer said.
A rolling BBC savings programme – the corporation previously set a target to save £700m, around 12 per cent of its costs by March 2028 – will have an impact on screen this year. The latest cuts will require additional savings.
BBC Sport will cover most of the opening stages of this summer’s expanded men’s World Cup from its Salford base to reduce costs and the broadcaster’s carbon footprint. Pundits and commentators will travel to North America, Canada and Mexico for the quarter-finals and later stages.
ITV, by contrast, said it will base all of its coverage from a New York studio.
BBC News braced for cuts
More cuts are expected to hit BBC News, which last year axed the HARDtalk discussion programme and Newsnight’s filmed reports – though the revamped studio-chat format is enjoying a ratings boom.
One BBC News insider said: “There are more cuts feared at Today, which has already lost most of its dedicated reporting team. It’s the BBC’s flagship news show, so they can’t afford more people to leave straight after presenter Amol Rajan and the editor, Owenna Griffiths, also announced her departure.”
Davie, who leaves the BBC in April, separately warned that the BBC World Service will run out of funding in just seven weeks with no future deal with the Government currently in place.
The newly announced savings are expected to amount to between £400m and £600m.
Davie did not specify where the cuts will come from but said the BBC “will need to continue to find savings and move money to where we need it to remain relevant for our audiences”.
A BBC spokesperson said of the latest round of cuts: “In a rapidly changing media market, we continue to face substantial financial pressures. As a result, we expect to make further savings over the next three years of around 10 per cent of our costs.
“This is about the BBC becoming more productive and prioritising our offer to audiences to ensure we’re providing the best value for money, both now and in the future.”
Hence then, the article about 1m a week strictly facing cuts as bbc scrambles to save 600m was published today ( ) and is available on inews ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( £1m-a-week Strictly facing cuts as BBC scrambles to save £600m )
Also on site :