Executive Board 10 September Room 3028, Broadcasting House, London

Transcription

1 Executive Board 10 September Room 3028, Broadcasting House, London Attendees Minutes from the Executive Board meeting on 9 July General update Olympics review, Quarterly Performance Report, and audiences update DQF Consolidated Performance Report Q BBC S4C Strategic Partnership Strategic Investment Proposal for the Aurora Programme Commercial update Charity Appeals Director updates... 5 Papers for approval Compliance Report Quarterly BBC Portfolio Status Report Significance Assessment for Connected Red Button Quarterly Property update Digital Switchover Bi-annual update Research & Development Board Minutes and actions from Finance Committee meetings Any other business

2 Attendees Present Mark Thompson Caroline Thomson Tim Davie George Entwistle Zarin Patel Ralph Rivera Roger Mosey Sally Davis Fiona Reynolds Marcus Agius Mike Lynch Director-General (Chair) Chief Operating Officer Director, Audio and Music (A&M) Director-General Designate Chief Financial Officer Director, Future Media Acting Director, Vision Senior non-executive director With Lynsey Tweddle Head of the Executive Unit (secretary) Christina Roski Business Manager, Executive Unit Jessica Cecil Head of the Director-General s Office Philip Almond Director, Marketing & Audiences (item 3) Adrian Ruth Controller, Performance (item 3) John Tate Group Director, Strategic Operations (items 3 and 4) Charlie Villar Director of Corporate Finance (item 4) Stuart Collins DQF Programme Manager (item 4) John Linwood Chief Technology Officer (item 6) Peter O Kane Director, Supplier Management (item 6) John Smith CEO, BBC Worldwide (item 7) Paul McCauley Charitable Appeals Advisor (item 8) Stephen Dunmore Chair, Appeals Advisory Committee (item 8) David Ramsden Chief Executive, BBC Children in Need (item 8) Beverley Tew Director, Finance, Procurement and Revenue Mgmt (item 9) Sarah Jones General Counsel (item 10) Balbir Binning Controller, Fair Trading (item 10) Apologies Simon Burke Brian McBride Helen Boaden Chris Waiting Director, News Chief Adviser to the Chief Operating Officer 2

3 Mark welcomed Roger Mosey to his first meeting of the Executive Board, as Acting Director, Vision. He also welcomed Philip Almond as the new Director of Marketing and Audiences who joined the meeting for the audiences update. 1 Minutes from the Executive Board meeting on 9 July 2012 The minutes from the July Board were approved and the summary for publication noted. 2 General update 2.1 The Board commented on a good summer for the BBC with Olympics coverage having been very well received by audiences and opinion formers alike. There had also been a number of other summer highlights for the BBC including the Proms, Hackney weekend, Shakespeare season and more recently Parades End. 3 Olympics review, Quarterly Performance Report, and audiences update 3.1 The Board moved on to review the Olympics in more detail, examining audience figures and feedback. This started with a short DVD clip of Olympics highlights. The Board commented on the craft skills of the editors who were not often recognised but had worked long hours during the Olympics doing an excellent job to present the coverage. 3.2 The Board talked generally about non-olympics audience data first noting a watch should be kept on local and regional radio which had seen a drop in figures. 3.3 Moving on to a review of the Olympics, however, it was noted that audience figures matched the highest ever seen in the BBC s history. BBC Three and the 24 streams of live sport had catered to a wide range of audiences, including those generally seen as underserved. BBC One had still retained enough scale, however, ensuring the audience had not been fragmented. It was interesting that the red button still remained a key driver for directing audiences to other content. The Board noted the decision to offer 24 streams had not been clear cut but it was gratifying to see how well the offering had been received by audiences. It was noted, however, that this was very likely to have raised expectations for future events. The Board also commented on the excellent coverage provided by Radio 5Live and Radio 5Live Olympics Extra. Quarterly Performance Report 3.4 The Board discussed the data in the report outlining audience satisfaction with the Olympics and Wimbledon in particular, noting that this measurement would become a useful benchmark for the BBC. It was also agreed that it would be helpful, on some occasions, to be able to segregate the data into different subsets to provide diagnostics about weaknesses or strengths. 3.5 In terms of the rest of the report, the Board commented on the decline in reach and share for BBC Two despite the high quality marks being achieved. 3

4 3.6 Overall the Board recognised that trust levels were at their highest for the BBC and it was important to be able to maintain these. It would be important to consider how best to make the most of other opportunities to bring audiences together. 3.7 The Board congratulated the team on the excellent job done on the Olympics. 4 DQF Consolidated Performance Report Q1 4.1 This item commenced with an update on the Efficiency Services Team (EST) following a presentation on the project at the Executive Board conference in April. There was a desire to be able to systemise the EST work and encourage change agents in the organisation but it was noted that the project was operating on a small basis at present, looking at pilot opportunities. It would be helpful to think about how it might progress and it was suggested that it would be beneficial to move quickly to capitalise on the positivity that had already been generated. 4.2 In terms of the consolidated DQF performance report, the Board noted that steady progress had been made. The Board noted the report. 5 BBC S4C Strategic Partnership Mark Thompson introduced this paper, which provided members of the Board with details of the draft BBC-S4C Strategic Partnership covering The Board endorsed the paper for submission to the Trust. 6 Strategic Investment Proposal for the Aurora Programme Summary: This paper related to the provision of technology services to the BBC and the expiry of the Technology Framework Contract. The Board discussed the procurement process, approach and strategic fit of the work asking that the paper be redrafted for presentation to the Trust. 7 Commercial update 7.1 John Smith provided an update on commercial activities. 8 Charity Appeals Charity Appeals Annual Report 8.1 This paper provided an overview of the BBC s Charity Appeals for the period 2011/12 and updated the Board on the work of the BBC s independent Appeals Advisory Committee (AAC) and the Charity Appeals Unit. 8.2 The Board thanked the AAC for the work they carried out and in particular the strategic review it had conducted. The Board also noted the importance of ensuring smaller 4

5 charities also received profile, for example via the Radio 4 appeal. Mark Thompson noted that Stephen Dunmore would be stepping down as Chair of the AAC the following year and was not expected to come before the Board again. Mark thanked Stephen for his advice, wisdom and support and asked that thanks also be passed to the rest of the AAC. Children in Need Annual Report 8.3 This paper updated the Board on the activities of the BBC Children in Need Appeal over the last year. It was submitted in line with the governance arrangements for the Charity agreed by the BBC Executive Board and Trust in Tim Davie introduced the paper noting the excellent year for Children In Need in terms of funds raised and impact generated. Ralph Rivera had joined the Board of Trustees and had been able to provide a different perspective in terms of connecting with audiences. BBC Vision had also provided a lot of support. 8.5 In line with comments made earlier, the Board noted that Children in Need also often provided grants to very small charities. 8.6 David Ramsden noted that the charity had taken some deliberate pro-active action over the last year, recognising the challenging environment, which it was noted, still remained. Thoughts were now being directed to what commercial opportunities might be explored. 8.7 The Board asked that thanks be passed to the Children in Need team for an excellent year. 9 Director updates a) Regulatory and industry 9.1 Caroline Thomson provided an update on regulatory and industry matters. Good progress had been made in setting up the delivery company related to the TVC sale and occupation of New Broadcasting House continued on track. The Board also noted the appointment of a new Culture Secretary. b) Finance Executive Finance Report 9.2 Zarin Patel and Beverley Tew summarised the key points in the finance report with the Board discussing briefly a number of elements including the position with DQF commitments. 5

6 Papers for approval 10 Compliance Report 10.1 This paper provided the Compliance Report for the first quarter of 2012/13. The Board noted that representation of disabled employees had been commented on the last time the Board had discussed compliance. Zarin Patel was chairing a group on this topic and the Board expressed its interest in seeing any further reports on diversity matters. 11 Quarterly BBC Portfolio Status Report 11.1 This paper provided the Board with a high level update on the BBC Portfolio of critical projects, together with a summary of the issues arising and actions agreed from Finance Committee scrutiny of the report The Board briefly discussed the report noting DMI continued to be problematic. The project was being re-planned and it was agreed that a substantive discussion should return to the Board at the appropriate point. 12 Significance Assessment for Connected Red Button 12.1 This paper sought Board approval for the regulatory assessment of the Connected Red Button proposal. A brief explanation was provided for the Public Value Test process and the Board endorsed the assessment that this proposal did not represent a significant change to BBC public services and did not therefore require a Public Value Test. 13 Quarterly Property update 13.1 This paper provided the regular quarterly update on property matters. The Board approved the paper for submission to the Trust but suggested that it would be useful to look at incorporating the information into another regular reporting paper. 14 Digital Switchover Bi-annual update 14.1 This paper provided an update on the latest developments for the digital switchover programme and the development of Freeview HD. The Board were updated on the position with the box suppliers and approved the paper for submission to the Trust. 15 Research & Development Board 15.1 This paper provided an updated Terms of Reference for the R&D Board. The most substantive change related to the core responsibilities of the Board, reflecting the intention to focus the majority of Board time on discussing long range strategic matters in this area. The Board approved the revised ToRs. 6

7 For noting 16 Minutes and actions from Finance Committee meetings 16.1 The Board noted the minutes and actions. 17 Any other business 17.1 As he would be stepping down shortly as Director-General and this would be his last Executive Board meeting, Mark Thompson said a few words. He commented on how the Board, as an institution had grown and developed since it was established and how it would continue to do so. He thanked colleagues for their candour during meetings, remarking on the quality and value of the debates at the Board which had provided a safe environment to talk about the important business and issues affecting the BBC Marcus Agius spoke on behalf of the rest of the Board, noting members gratitude and appreciation for the way in which Mark had chaired the Board. Marcus highlighted some of the key moments of Mark s tenure as Director-General remarking on how well he had handled situations in what was a difficult and extremely demanding job. In particular, Marcus noted that Mark was leaving the BBC in a strong position, with trust levels at their highest and after a great summer of sporting and national activity. 7