Media

Sir Michael watching kids' TV standards

Published Friday, Nov 30 2007, 09:43 GMT | By Dave West
Sir Michael Lyons has promised the BBC Trust will make sure cuts do not lead to declining standards in the corporation's children's television output.

The Trust chairman spoke about the 10% cut in CBBC's budget at the Voice of the Listener & Viewer annual conference on Thursday.

"Let me give you this guarantee: The trust will be tracking performance carefully in the months and years ahead to ensure that the efficiency savings we have set do not affect quality," he warned.

"Any sign that this is happening and we will require management to take corrective action."

He noted a recent Ofcom review that found decreasing investment in making children's shows in the UK and added: "The decline is clearly driven by commercial pressures.

"The result is that BBC One is now the only analogue channel in the UK to broadcast children's programmes after school."

Talking specifics, Sir Michael said the Trust would look at the affect of replacing Neighbours with longer show The Weakest Link next year after it was put in place.
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