The Stage

BBC reveals it spent £229 million on talent

Published Tuesday 9 February 2010 at 14:30 by Matthew Hemley

The BBC spent a total of £229 million on talent over the 12 months to March 2009, the Corporation has revealed.

While fees for individual presenters have not been divulged by the BBC, the Corporation said £54 million of the total was paid to those earning £150,000 or more, which equates to 1.55% of funding from the licence fee.

Of the total £229 million - which is equal to 5.56% of money generated from the licence fee - £115 million was spent on talent earning up to £50,000, £44 million was spent on talent earning between £50,000 to £100,000 and £16 million was spent on talent earning from £100,000 to £150,000.

BBC chief operating officer Caroline Thomson said: “Artists, presenters, musicians and other contributors are central to the BBC’s ability to deliver high quality and distinctive programming and we know that audiences expect to see and hear them on BBC programmes. The BBC engages some of the greatest performers in the world across television and radio, and also nurtures and develops people that will be at the heart of our programmes in the future.”

She added: “They add to the credibility, expertise and creativity of the BBC.”

Last summer, the BBC announced it would be revealing total spend on talent, as part of an effort to make the Corporation more transparent.