BBC Deficit Projected To Skyrocket To $620M Next Year
deadline.comThe BBC‘s financial deficit is projected to reach nearly £500M next year as the corporation delivers what it has described as a “transformational budget.” Unveiling its Annual Plan this afternoon, which sets priorities for the coming year, the BBC forecast a deficit of £492M ($620M) for 2024/25, a sharp rise of 40% from this year.
Explaining the hefty jump, the BBC said its plan to grow BBC Studios “drives higher income” and “requires significant investment in 24/25, contributing to the group operating deficit,” while pointing out that this year will also include big expenditure on sporting events such as the summer Olympics and European football championships. “Our financial plan includes a transformative approach to savings to enable delivery of our strategic ambitions,” it went on. “This will require a number of difficult decisions over the course of the year including one-off transformational costs.
Ultimately savings will help to deliver reinvestment in our audience offering and set the BBC up to succeed as audience consumption patterns change.” Following this year’s “transformational budget,” the BBC said the plan should return to an investment and expenditure surplus for the following year, “as new savings programmes are established and commercial growth is established.” “A number of announcements” are incoming throughout the year relating to these “transformational costs,” it said.
Director General Tim Davie revealed earlier this week that the BBC will look for a further £200M annual savings and reinvestment by 2027/28. “Remixing budgets” But overall content spend will rise by around 8% and spend on TV programs by a similar amount in 2024/25, according to the plan, a boost of £146M with those major
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