LONDON -- Many supporters of the BBC felt relieved Thursday when the UK government presented its "White Paper" on h g wells adventurous eroticismoverhauling the organisation -- the reforms didn't go as far as some had feared.
In what may eventually be seen as a master class in expectations management, the government didn't go through with some of the more far-reaching ideas they had floated over the past few months.
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With what they've delivered, both the BBC and the government can claim victories, media consultant and former broadcast journalist Graham Lovelace told Mashable.
The sticking point
The biggest change coming to the BBC is how it's overseen. In its current structure, the BBC Trust and BBC Executive share overlapping duties on things like strategy and licensing, which has caused confusion.
The government has scrapped the Trust in favour of a single board with 12 to 14 members. The non-executive chair, deputy chair and representatives for England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland will be appointed by the government, with the rest by the BBC.
Science presenter Brian Cox wasn't impressed with this.
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Neither was the BBC itself. Director-General Tony Hall said, "We have an honest disagreement with the Government on this. I do not believe that the appointments proposals for the new unitary board are yet right."
Writer and director Peter Kosminsky said the organisation is trusted all around the world, but if the government has nominees running it, "you can kiss goodbye to any sense of the BBC being an independent broadcaster."
How this will actually play out into programming decisions remains to be seen. But Al Tompkins, senior faculty at America's Poynter Institute, had a more optimistic take on the situation.
"When government is involved in funding of anything, they’ll have their hand in controlling it," he said.
To Tompkins, the bigger and more interesting question is that of public broadcasters' challenge worldwide to produce high quality, interesting content, while appealing to enough people to stay relevant.
The mandate
The BBC's new Mission Statement is: "To act in the public interest, serving all audiences with impartial, high-quality and distinctive media content and services that inform, educate and entertain."
Tompkins sees this as a mandate that, if the BBC is using government money, there needs to be a discernible difference from the commercial spectrum.
"What the BBC is trying to do in many ways is what public broadcasters would love to have the freedom to do, without the pressure of being judged from ratings and popularity," he said.
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So for popular shows like Strictly Come Dancing-- are they distinctive enough from commercial broadcasters, and are they in the public interest?
Lovelace said this would be a big debate going forward. "Over the next couple of years -- the debate will continue, around every new series or drama on TV."
For American fans of the BBC and its , the changes might not affect them too much. BBC programmes -- like Sherlock, Doctor Who and Top Gear-- are often sold individually to various networks there. "They’ll still cherry pick the programming that they want," Tompkins said.
The iPlayer 'loophole'
Another big change is the closing of the iPlayer "loophole" which allows online viewers to watch catch-up content without paying the licensing fee. This change was expected, but "it's going to be tricky to police, and it's going to catch a lot of younger viewers out," Lovelace said.
SEE ALSO: The days of watching BBC iPlayer without a TV license are numberedIndeed, Mashablefound in March that the site didn't verify whether the user has a license. The government didn't give details of any plans to enforce the change.
Coming under Ofcom
As part of the governance shakeup, the BBC will now be regulated by Ofcom, the UK's communications regulator. It's the first time in BBC history it's coming under an external independent regulator.
This might be a good thing for viewers as they'll be able to take their complaints to Ofcom, instead of the BBC's own regulator.
"This is the government saying we have an effective regulator, there’s no point in a parallel regulator," Lovelace said. "It probably should’ve happened a long time ago."
All in all, the BBC is "a revered national institution, and familiar treasured companion," according to the White Paper. There will always be debate and opinions on how it's run and the government's role in it. Today's announcement has placated many of its fans who were worried about its future.
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