Squeeze on BBC ‘a threat to programme makers’

Independent TV companies warned today that Government cuts to the BBC threaten the corporation's annual £460 million spend on external programme making.

John McVay, chief executive of industry body Producers' Alliance for Cinema and Television, which represents indie producers, said he feared that: "For my members, it means less money for original programming and less money for programme budgets.

"My worry is that without sufficient funding you'll get poor-quality content on the BBC."

McVay urged BBC management to cut spending in non-content areas such as the internet, reduce the number of full-time staff and sell off property.

Analysts at City firm HB Markets reckoned some independent producers could see an "upside" to the BBC cuts, as the Corporation will make outsource more to indies "simply because they are more efficient".

Some of the BBC's biggest shows are made externally. Talkback Thames produces The Apprentice while Shine makes Masterchef and Endemol produces Ready Steady Cook.

The BBC has a commitment that indies should produce at least 25% of its shows, but in some areas, such as drama and comedy, the BBC commissions close to 50% externally. A BBC spokesman declined to comment but an insider said: "It is far too early to say and wrong to say that money will come out of programming."

Accountants Deloitte produced research for the BBC which showed the its spending with indie TV firms "directly generated £867 million of economic value" in 2009.