Latest in BBC Trust

Rona Fairhead, who became chair of BBC governing body the BBC Trust in August 2014, has opted not to stand for re-appointment. Until today, she wouldn’t have had to. And, it’s complicated. The former Financial Times Group chief executive was due to remain in her post for a full four years, sequeing from the BBC Trust…

After months of at-times frenzied speculation, the UK government has finally published its white paper of reforms for the BBC, and the results are better than the doomsayers had feared. At its heart is a desire for the BBC to place “distinctive content” at the center of its focus. The new charter for the BBC will…

UPDATE: The BBC has taken to Twitter to respond to this morning’s news that UK indies Hat Trick Prods and Avalon Entertainment were launching a £100M bid to save the BBC Three channel from becoming an online-only outlet. After the proposal to acquire BBC Three was confirmed by Hat Trick to the media, the broadcaster’s…

UPDATE, SUNDAY 12:19 PM PT: It’s official: The British government has confirmed that former publishing executive Rona Fairhead has been named as next chair of the BBC Trust, the governing body of the BBC, one of the world’s largest and most influential broadcasters. PREVIOUS, SATURDAY 11:18 PM PT: Former Financial…

Chris Patten, who has absorbed some of the criticism for the BBC’s handling of the Jimmy Savile sexual abuse revelations and subsequent Newsnight scandal last year that rocked the UK pubcaster, has resigned from the post he has held since 2011. His contract was set to expire in April 2015. Vice Chairman Diane Coyle…

BBC Trust chairman Chris Patten quoted Charles Dickens today in reflecting on the corporation’s last year: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,” he said. Patten made the remark in presenting the BBC’s annual report for the year ended March 31. He was specifically referring to the ups and downs of…

The BBC is in hot water again, this time over the handling of the Digital Media Initiative, a project to digitize archive content and make it easily accessible to production staff. The project was cancelled last month, but had already cost the broadcaster and taxpayers nearly £100M. Now, the Commons Public Accounts…

BBC Worldwide, the commercial arm of the BBC, is selling its Lonely Planet travel guide business at the knockdown price of £51.5M ($77M) after paying £130M to acquire it in an earlier two-stage deal. The company had been looking for a buyer for the past year before settling on Brad Kelley’s Nashville-based NC2 Media…

BBC Vision director George Entwistle has been appointed by the BBC Trust to take over from outgoing director general Mark Thompson. The public broadcaster, which is in the midst of a belt-tightening phase, will pay Entwistle a £450,000 annual salary. Thompson, who has held the post since 2004, is currently earning…

The BBC Trust, the Beeb's internal regulator, is to give government spending watchdog the National Audit Office free rein to scrutinise its accounts. The Beeb is bowing to government pressure to give the NAO unfettered access to what it spends. This means that top BBC talent could have their salaries published for the…

UPDATE: In announcing the freeze, the BBC has bowed to the inevitable. New UK Prime Minister David Cameron first called for the licence fee to be frozen in March. TV consultant Claire Enders of Enders Analysis tells me this is a “sensible approach from the BBC to accept that it does not require this additional income…

The talent agents point out the BBC needs their clients' permission to quote how much their clients earn. Which the stars are hardly likely to give. "What the BBC is doing is just a sop to the government," says one agent. Sir Michael Lyons, chairman of the BBC's oversight body BBC Trust, has called on the Beeb to…