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Zoe Ball's pay has increased by £1m. Don't tell the over 75's.

(32 Posts)
Spangler Wed 16-Sep-20 08:14:00

Zoe Ball, the Radio 2 presenter has seen her pay rise by £1m since taking over the breakfast show.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-54119758

Her show is said to have lost over a million listeners. I'm not surprised. A million pounds gained a million listeners lost.
www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2020/may/14/zoe-balls-bbc-radio-2-show-loses-a-million-listeners

grannyrebel7 Thu 17-Sep-20 20:20:15

I used to love Chris Evans on the breakfast show. I know he's not everyone's cup of tea but I liked his enthusiasm. When Zoe took over it just wasn't the same. Can't believe she's been given a pay rise when she's lost so many listeners. I listen to Magic Radio now in the mornings. I like Ronan Keating and Harriet Scott.

paddyanne Thu 17-Sep-20 18:14:38

I hear that 500 households A DAY are cancelling licenses in Scotland,over 235.000so far this year.Thats because of biased reporting ,its obviously working as this afternoon the good old money grubbing BBC have done a u-turn on televising the FM's briefings .Too little too late for many who are saying they will still cancel until the bias is addressed .We're shortchanged anyway as most of the money raised in Scotland by licensing isn't spent in Scotland .Might mean the end of the Tory supporting presenters ..we can but hope

Grandmabatty Thu 17-Sep-20 17:21:28

I wonder if the huge pay packets started when the likes of sky began and it was an attempt to hold onto good staff? Now, of course, it has got out of hand with bidding wars for sports and 'talent'. I like the idea of a public broadcasting station and I think the bbc does certain things well. But I'm not averse to it being an opt in or out option.

AGAA4 Thu 17-Sep-20 17:18:41

The amount these presenters are being paid is obscene. We found out during lockdown who we really need, NHS staff, police, delivery people etc. They are being paid a pittance compared to these highly paid, often irritating, people.
How much would we miss Zoe Ball et al. I am sure there are talented people who could do their jobs better and for much less pay.

Spangler Thu 17-Sep-20 07:53:21

Out of curiosity and because I'm ignorant on subscription television, I looked up first, the BBC's last recorded turnover, it was for 2019 and came to just shy of five billion pounds. that's five thousand million pounds.
www.statista.com/statistics/284709/bbc-s-annual-income-in-the-united-kingdom-uk-by-source/

Then as Netflix and Sky are the only subscription channels that I have heard of I checked their last recorded turnover figures.

Netflix has grown from $1.67 billion in 2002 to $20.15 billion today. That's roughly £15.6 billion pounds.
www.statista.com/statistics/272545/annual-revenue-of-netflix/

Sky's last reported turnover was £17.7 Billion pounds for 2019.
www.statista.com/statistics/273693/bskybs-annual-revenue/#:~:text=In%20the%20fiscal%20year%202015,in%20the%20fiscal%20year%202019.

It does emphasise what some are saying about subscription television. From what I read, Netflix is very popular among a younger audience.

Do you think that The BBC would survive if it had to earn it's money the way the commercial sector does? Would it shed much of it's TV & Radio empire? How would you feel about that.

Try as I might, I couldn't find salary figures for Netflix or Sky. I wondered how their top earners compared with the BBC. I used a website called www.statista.com/ for that information. Perhaps someone more knowledgeable with internet searches could find a comparison salary figure.

Callistemon Wed 16-Sep-20 11:34:47

Callistemon grin Imagine us agreeing!!!
On several threads!

And the BBC is making rather murky dramas.

When I say murky, I mean they pay the stars so much that they can't afford any lighting.

trisher Wed 16-Sep-20 11:24:36

Callistemon grin Imagine us agreeing!!!
I was thinking about the glory days of the BBC when they nurtured real talent and created great work. They now seem intent on keeping inadequate people and paying them huge amounts

Nortsat Wed 16-Sep-20 11:10:54

Firecracker thank you for the info ... but it’s making me feel slightly nauseous...

Maggiemaybe Wed 16-Sep-20 11:10:30

Radio 1 has a much better track record for bringing in new people, giving rising talent, unknowns and interns guest slots, etc. They probably think the Radio 2 listeners are set in their ways and wouldn’t want this. Surely this would be a good time to put this to the test?

Gwyneth Wed 16-Sep-20 11:08:35

What a crazy insensitive time to give someone a million pound pay rise in the current climate. The BBC must have a death wish!

Callistemon Wed 16-Sep-20 11:08:08

Perhaps we should all rebel and refuse to pay the fee.

They can't send us all to prison.

Callistemon Wed 16-Sep-20 11:05:28

Ilovecheese

Is this as a result of their now having to pay women equal salaries to men?

No, I don't think so.
She is the highest paid person at the BBC.
I just ask why ?
Is she that talented?

(Not in my opinion!)

Firecracker123 Wed 16-Sep-20 11:03:03

The so called BBC talent wage bill paid for by us.

Firecracker123 Wed 16-Sep-20 11:00:12

Defund the BBC

Calendargirl Wed 16-Sep-20 10:48:54

Nortsat

I think Gary Lineker has taken a £400,000 pay cut, so is now on £1,350,000.

Helps towards Zoe’s I suppose.

Ilovecheese Wed 16-Sep-20 10:41:21

Is this as a result of their now having to pay women equal salaries to men?

EllanVannin Wed 16-Sep-20 10:31:10

Obscene headlines when people are losing their jobs !!

Nortsat Wed 16-Sep-20 10:25:34

I think it’s obscene.
Previously Ms Ball earned c£350k, which is already a ludicrously generous amount of money, now she’s earning c£1,350,000. I can’t make sense of it ...
Surely she wouldn’t be that great a loss, if she was poached by another channel.

I realise serious concerns were raised by women BBC employees, regarding their gender pay gap. However to slap £1 million on one woman’s salary is just absurd.
Equally Gary Lineker earning £1.75 million is beyond my comprehension.

I value the BBC and it’s wonderful contribution to our national lives. However, if they want the Tory Government to dismantle them, this disgraceful pay structure (especially in a time of pandemic) means they are heading in the right direction.

J52 Wed 16-Sep-20 10:21:00

They are all paid far too much! I really can’t think that my life would be any different without Zoe Ball!
If the BBC paid peanuts there would still be people queuing up to present programmes, just for the experience, celebratory status.
The BBC had status when it was the only broadcasting option. Time it was revamped.

ayse Wed 16-Sep-20 10:13:52

How can anyone deserve that much money for presenting? The world has gone mad!

I’m with others that suggest new faces should be given opportunities. Way back presenters were recruited from pirate radio stations once the BBC decided to include young people’s music in their offerings. I’m sure there must be many presenters who would do a fine job for less than 25% of that amount of money.

Callistemon Wed 16-Sep-20 10:08:24

I agree, trisher
(This is becoming a habit!)

If they defect to other channels, so what?
There must be many talented people out there waiting for a chance.

Other channels are proving that they can do things so much better than the BBC.
The licence fee is becoming legalised robbery because to watch any other channel you have to have a BBC licence.

Callistemon Wed 16-Sep-20 10:04:01

I must admit it left me speechless for all of 45 seconds when I heard just how much this woman earns for presenting a radio show.

Presenters' pay and the Over 75s are two separate issues.

Yes. But presenters' pay needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency because this is our money which is being wasted.

trisher Wed 16-Sep-20 10:01:55

I don't understand why any of these middle aged presenters are paid the amount they are. There must be thousands of young people who would do a better job for mch less Sack them, audition new talent and appoint the best person for a reasonable wage. If the old presenters want to take a pay cut that's fine.

Firecracker123 Wed 16-Sep-20 09:55:06

The BBC should be subscription only not a tax on every household in the UK then its upto you if you want to subscribe and pay. Its obscene the amount of money the so called talent (I use that word lightly) get. Defund the BBC.

Maggiemaybe Wed 16-Sep-20 09:44:45

Though to be fair, LT’s still not on a bad hourly rate for a weekly show!