BBC branded 'pickpocket' over plans to spend £50m on 'research' to make better shows

dailystar.co.uk:

BBC is set to spend £50million on “research” in a bid to make better shows. The cash will be used over four years and will involve viewers being tracked on a daily or weekly basis to see what they are watching and engaging with across the BBC network.But the spending spree for the “continuous tracking market research” has been met with fury from campaigning groups, who say it is yet another example of Beeb bosses going on wild “spending sprees” with taxpayers money.The Daily Star Sunday has discovered the multi-million pound contract, which will run for four years from March 2023 to February 2027, has gone out to tender and is wanted to “provide an insight from a range of demographic groups” so chiefs can reach a “more diverse” audience.Bosses are asking outside companies to make bids for the contract after it was listed online.The Beeb says it is looking for “research studies that provide insight into people’s usage of and attitudes to media products and services, drawing on input from a range of different demographic groups and geographical regions, including the requirement to sample harder to reach, niche and diverse audiences”.But the move was slammed by campaigners.

Joe Ventre, of the Tax-Payers’ Alliance, said: “This cash has been picked from the pockets of households facing a cost of living crisis, simply because they dare to own a telly.”Alisa Smythe, from Turn2us, a charity fighting UK poverty, added: “It is an eyewatering amount as many families choose between food and keeping the lights on.“Surely that money from the taxpayers could be used in a better way.

This news will not go down well.”A BBC spokesperson said: “Audiences are at the heart of everything we do and our Charter requires us to assess their.