BBC Director General Tim Davie: Licence Fee Deal Creates $400M Shortfall In Final Year; Figure Is “Disappointing” But Lower Than Previous Estimates

Former Channel 5 Director of Programmes Dawn Airey has been appointed Interim Chair of Channel 4 and will likely steer the network through the upcoming privatization decision.

EXCLUSIVE: “Bringing BBC Three back to linear TV” would have been far down former BBC Director General Tony Hall’s list of predictions for his successor’s first major piece of business.

Naman Ramachandran The pioneering Young Audiences Content Fund, funded by the U.K. government’s Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), will conclude its three-year pilot program on Feb. 25.The fund offered up to 50% of the budget of programs aimed at children and young people from U.K.

K.J. Yossman BBC Studios has unveiled the line-up for its annual Showcase and it includes creatives such as “Happy Valley” creator Sally Wainwright and the hosts of “Top Gear.” The three-day event, which will again be virtual for 2022, will be fronted by talent including “Strictly Come Dancing” co-host Claudia Winkleman, Clara Amfo and Anita Rani, as well as BBC Studios execs.BBC Studios is the commercial arm of broadcaster the BBC and among those appearing at the Showcase will be the BBC’s director-general Tim Davie, BBC Studios CEO Tom Fussell and BBC chief content officer Charlotte Moore.

Sally Wainwright, Daisy May Cooper and the hosts of Top Gear, along with senior BBC execs, will address next month’s BBC Studios Showcase, as the commercial outfit unveils a packed lineup for the online-only event.

Nicola Sturgeon has said she is "determined" that Scots will be able to vote at a second referendum on independence by the end of next year.

Monty Don, 66, did not appear to be in good spirits when he took to Twitter last night to hit back at an account that asked him not to share his political views with fans online.Their tweet came after the BBC star utilised the social platform to share an opinionated piece about Prime Minister Boris Johnson by The Guardian.In the essay, writer Max Hastings asserted that Boris “is utterly unfit” to be the head of the government in the UK before going on to claim that he “cares for nothing but his own fame and gratification”.Along with a link to the article, Monty wrote in view of his 247,000 followers: “Every word is prescient.“I was Boris Johnson’s boss: he is utterly unfit to be prime minister | Max Hastings”And while the tweet received well over 1,300 likes, the Twitter user @HughNTJohnson didn’t seem to agree with the Americans Gardens author’s decision to use his social media account to discuss political matters.“No politics Monty, you work for BBC, tax payers don’t need to pay for opinions, just gardening,” they wrote.Clearly unamused by the remark, Monty tweeted out a fiery response, starting off with laying things bare on his working relationship with the Beeb.“For the record I don’t work for the BBC- i work for myself,” he wrote. (sic)“And I wasn’t aware you paid to read my comments on twitter.“However I defend to the death your right to disagree with them and express your own views- on any subject.”The user later apologised to Monty for their comment.Max laid into Boris in his opinionated piece, adding that while he’s known him since they both worked at the Daily Telegraph in the 1980s, the 57-year-old was deemed more of an entertainer than a solid candidate to be running for national office.And according to Max,

Afternoon subscribers, Max Goldbart here. It’s been a busy week but International Insider has you covered. Read on for in-depth analysis of the biggest international headlines of the week.

“7pm BBC2 (an hour earlier than the previous programmes).”The clip was a ranging view of the garden he has most recently worked on on the show.Fans were then quick and eager to jump on to the post to join Monty in a mutual farewell.@Leerotherham said: “It's been a great watch, I particularly enjoyed the formal gardens in Venice.”@AlexandrosG wrote: “One of my favourite islands, I used to spend wonderful days there especially during childhood.”@Fumisnan put: “Looking forward to watching this, it looks stunning.”Monty explained earlier this week that the future of his shows are looking “less likely” due to BBC’s license fee freeze.This comes after culture secretary Nadine Dorries announced changes yesterday.The horticulturist explained what the license fee freeze meant.Monty wrote: "Although there is a debate to be had over the extent and duration of the licence fee, the government freeze will save payers the grand sum of 15 pence per week over the coming year."However it will mean that programmes like Adriatic Gardens will be much less likely to be made," he warned his fans.Once again, many of the gardener’s followers took to Twitter to express their admiration for his shows.Jo Mirzoeff told the star: "Adriatic Gardens is an absolute joy and worth the licence fee all on its own.”Jo and Sky Woodhouse commented: "I think that will be a tragedy and it’s the thin end of the wedge, it’s not just the wonderful tv, like your Adriatic series, but also the radio, think of Radio 4 for example.”Joyce Jordan added: "I would rather pay the licence fee than risk losing quality programmes like Adriatic Gardens."And many other shows I love on the BBC especially GW." (sic)

Boris Johnson has been told to “in the name of God,go” by one of Conservative party’s most senior MPs.

Dan Walker hit out at Boris Johnson for 'not knowing the rules' amid the government's lockdown party scandal.The BBC Breakfast host ranted about the prime minister in front of the nation on his BBC morning show - where he joined co-star Sally Nugent on the red sofa.At one point, he even suggested Boris should get the boot as he asked: "How can that be the man in charge?"Dan vented his frustration to Armed Forces Minister James Heappey on Wednesday's Breakfast (January 19).Dan said: "The vast majority of people are judging him from what they’ve seen in public because that’s the only opportunity they get."Yesterday, they did see him in public. You just said he’s a man with his head in the detail and a man who has his hand on the tiller is the way you were describing him.

Gardeners' World presenter Monty Don has taken to Twitter to address the future of his BBC shows following the news that the BBC licence fee is set to be frozen at £159 for the next two years.The presenter of Monty Don's Adriatic Gardens, 66, explained that his shows are now "less likely" to be made in the face of the freeze after Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries announced the changes yesterday.In view of his 246,800 followers, the star explained what the licence fee freeze meant for the future of his programmes.Monty wrote: "Although there is a debate to be had over the extent and duration of the licence fee, the government freeze will save payers the grand sum of 15 pence per week over the coming year."However it will mean that programmes like Adriatic Gardens will be much less likely to be made," he warned his fans.Following the news, many of the horticulturalist's followers took to the comments to weigh in on the news.Jo Mirzoeff told the gardening star: "Adriatic Gardens is an absolute joy and worth the licence fee all on its own."While Jo and Sky Woodhouse commented: "I think that will be a tragedy and it’s the thin end of the wedge, it’s not just the wonderful tv, like your Adriatic series, but also the radio, think of Radio 4 for example."Joyce Jordan chipped in: "I would rather pay the licence fee than risk losing quality programmes like Adriatic Gardens."And many other shows I love on the BBC especially GW." (sic)Jo Barlow added: "Which is a tragedy as Adriatic Gardens is just a delight x."Joseph Wicks replied saying: "That would be a great shame. Loving Adriatic gardens and all the BBC does.

Line of Duty's crack trio have reunited to grill Boris Johnson in a new spoof episode.

BBC director general Tim Davie has said that the freezing of TV licence fees will cost the broadcaster £285million.Davie said the new settlement, set to stop the cost of licence fees increasing for the next two years, “will affect our frontline output” and prompt cuts across services and content.Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries said of the decision yesterday (January 17): “The BBC must support people at a time when their finances are strained, make savings and efficiencies, and use the billions in public funding it receives to deliver for viewers, listeners and users.”“Inevitably, if you don’t have £285million, you will get less services and less programmes,” Davie subsequently told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Tuesday (January 18).“Now, I still think the BBC can offer extraordinary value for £13 a month.”Regarding potential cuts to accommodate for a stagnating licence fee until 2024, Davie continued: “We go first to those cuts where we don’t affect our output…We are not at the place where you can never make cuts, but this will affect our frontline output. There’s no doubt about that.”He went on to acknowledge the BBC “[needs] to reshape ourselves for a digital age”.“The media market is moving extremely rapidly,” he added.

Dan Walker has defended the BBC after it was hinted that the license fee would be scrapped. Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries tweeted about plans to overhaul the funding model for the BBC, revealing that the next announcement about the fee would "be the last".The annual payment usually changes on April 1 of each year, however, reports suggest that it will be frozen at the rate of £159 for the next two years.

EXCLUSIVE: As the BBC dominates the headlines and the future of the licence fee is placed in doubt, another major British public broadcaster Channel 4 looks set to have to wait longer to discover the fate of its own future-defining government decision on privatization.

Boris Johnson’s sudden move to freeze the BBC licence fee, and possibly abolish it altogether, have been branded an act of “cultural vandalism” to distract from the partygate scandal engulfing his government.

Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries has confirmed the Conservatives ' snap plan to abolish the BBC licence fee, in what was branded as a "pathetic" attack on journalism.

The BBC licence fee will be frozen for the next two years by the UK government before returning to an inflationary rise, which will likely cripple the corporation’s programming budgets.

The next announcement about the BBC TV licence fee "will be the last", the Culture Secretary has said, amid reports it will be frozen for the next two years.

High-profile figures were rallying behind the beleaguered BBC yesterday after reports emerged that the UK government plans to freeze the licence fee for two years and scrap it entirely in 2027.