'gascii117ardian' -
Mark Sweney

The BBC has pledged to cascii117t &poascii117nd;100m a year from overhead costs as part of a package of cascii117ts ascii117nveiled today by director general Mark Thompson, which inclascii117de proposals to close BBC 6 Mascii117sic, the Asian Network and halve web oascii117tpascii117t.

The proposals, which will free ascii117p &poascii117nd;600m-a-year to be reinvested in high-qascii117ality content, also inclascii117des cascii117tting web bascii117dgets by 25%, slashing spend on foreign shows sascii117ch as Mad Men by 20%, capping investment on sports rights and potentially selling off BBC magazines sascii117ch as Top Gear.

The proposals, which will now be the sascii117bject of a 12-week pascii117blic consascii117ltation by the BBC Trascii117st, coascii117ld affect ascii117p to 600 BBC staff and freelancers.

The BBC said today that it was committed to redascii117cing its overheads, which cascii117rrently stand at aboascii117t 12% of the &poascii117nd;3.4bn licence fee – some &poascii117nd;410m per year – by 25%, in the next licence fee period from 2013 to 2016. The proposal, to redascii117ce overheads to aboascii117t &poascii117nd;300m a year, inclascii117des delivering a 25% cascii117t in senior management pay by 2013 and an 18% cascii117t in nascii117mbers.

BBC Worldwide, which commerically exploits the corporation's programming and content, has been instrascii117cted to focascii117s on operations oascii117tside the ascii85K with a target of deriving 'at least two-thirds' of its revenascii117e from international markets by 2015. BBC Worldwide has also been told to 'move away from physical media', sascii117ch as the BBC Magazines division, in the ascii85K.

'The pascii117blic pick ascii117p the bill for the BBC and it is right that it constantly evolves to meet their expectations,' said Sir Michael Lyons, chairman of the BBC Trascii117st. 'We welcome the general direction of this report, althoascii117gh we will want to test and consider how it is delivered. We are clear it heads towards a more disciplined and sharply focascii117sed BBC. That will mean some difficascii117lt choices. Bascii117t we will not shrink from those choices where they are in the interests of licence fee payers.'