Gary Lineker has retained his title as the highest paid BBC presenter, although the continued exodus of renowned stars from the station has led to the departure of some big revenue earners.
The former footballer earned £ 1.35 million last year to host the match of the day and coverage of Euro 2020, which placed him comfortably ahead of the presenter of Radio 2’s breakfast program , Zoe Ball, who took home £ 980,000 from the BBC.
Other notable revenues shown in the corporation’s annual report include Lineker Match of the Day teammate Alan Shearer with £ 450,000, BBC Northern Ireland presenter Stephen Nolan with £ 415,000 and the News at Ten host Huw Edwards with £ 410,000.
Several of those on the highest paid list in 2021 have left the BBC to join commercial rivals, releasing Dan Walker’s £ 220,000 salary, the £ 325,000 earned by Emily Maitlis and the £ 225,000 a year he earns. the former American publisher Jon. Sopel.
Since the government demanded the BBC disclose the salaries of its highest paid stars, it has desperately tried to negotiate the down payment and move on with some of its biggest revenue, in the context of continued cuts in real terms. the license fee.
The figures include only work for the BBC’s public service elements, meaning the list is dominated by people who work directly for the BBC’s television, radio and news divisions. Actors and presenters working on programs for the BBC’s commercial production division are excluded, ie Fiona Bruce’s declared salary of £ 410,000 only covers her work at question time and the submission of newsletters. news, but excludes the unknown sum he receives for presenting Antiques Roadshow.
The figures also reveal the huge sums spent on rounds of layoffs that have affected staff off the air, as part of ongoing cuts to BBC operations. The corporation has spent £ 125 million on severance pay over the past two years, as many longtime employees received generous payments as part of CEO Tim Davie’s effort to reduce the total workforce by thousands.
The BBC’s annual report shows this, but it contains worrying signs that its reach among younger, poorer and ethnically diverse audiences is not improving. This could undermine the case for the £ 159 universal license fee which provides most of the funding for the BBC’s operations.
Although 90% of British adults use BBC services at least once a week, they tend to be older, wealthier people, who are often big consumers of the BBC’s traditional television and radio services.
Among under-16s, who have grown up with streaming services like Netflix and YouTube as standard options, only 73% of under-16s use BBC services in an average week.
The BBC is trying to counterattack by shutting down broadcast TV and radio channels and shifting funding to its streaming services iPlayer and Sounds, which have grown substantially in the last 12 months but are catching up with commercial rivals such as Netflix.
The main income on the BBC air
1. Gary Lineker: £ 1.35 m2. Zoe Ball: £ 980,000 = 3. Alan Shearer: £ 450,000 = 3. Steve Wright: £ 450,0005. Stephen Nolan: £ 415,000 = £ 6. Hugh Edwards: £ 410,000 = 6. Fiona Bruce: £ 410,000 = 8. Scott Mills: £ 400,000 = 8. Vanessa Feltz: £ 400,000 10. Greg James: £ 390,000 11. Ken Bruce: £ 385,000 12. Lauren Laverne: £ 380,00013. Naga Munchetty: £ 365,000 = 14. Amol Rajan: £ 325,000 = 14. George Alagiah: £ 325,000 = 14. Emily Maitlis: £ 325,000