±«Óătv

The ±«Óătv's on-air and on-screen talent costs

This review provides an in-depth examination of the ±«Óătv's use of on-air and on-screen talent.

The ±«Óătv Trust commissioned an independent review, conducted by Oliver and Ohlbaum Associates Ltd (O&O), in November 2007 to provide an in-depth examination of the ±«Óătv's use of on-air and on-screen talent. This followed press reports about presenters' salaries during the course of 2006 which aroused industry and public concern and led some people to question the ±«Óătv's approach to the talent it employs. This debate was still live when the Trust was established as the ±«Óătv's governing body in January 2007. It was, and has remained, a topic raised by the public with Trustees during our appearances on radio phone-ins and at public meetings in all parts of the UK.

The Trust posed O&O three specific questions:

  1. How do the size and structure of the ±«Óătv's reward packages for talent compare with the rest of the market?
  2. What has been the impact of the ±«Óătv's policy on the talent market, particularly in relation to cost inflation?
  3. To what extent do the ±«Óătv's policy and processes in relation to investment in, and reward of, talent support value for money?

We are publishing O&O's report which seeks to answer these questions, the ±«Óătv management's response to the points it raises and our own judgements informed by this evidence.

±«Óătv Trust conclusions