0:00:10 > 0:00:14Good afternoon and welcome to a special edition of Points Of View,
0:00:14 > 0:00:17where we will be putting your questions and comments
0:00:17 > 0:00:20to the man in charge, here at the BBC,
0:00:20 > 0:00:23and that is the Director-General Tony Hall himself.
0:00:23 > 0:00:27But first, here's a quick roundup of your views on the TV you've been watching
0:00:27 > 0:00:30and we're going to start with last Saturday, and Strictly.
0:00:32 > 0:00:36Bruce Forsyth's jibes at the proportions of contestant Mark,
0:00:36 > 0:00:38tipping the scales for quite a lot of Strictly fans.
0:00:40 > 0:00:42CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:00:42 > 0:00:45For a guy of this size to do a jive!
0:00:45 > 0:00:47I mean, it was quite something. Darcey.
0:01:13 > 0:01:16So were the veteran presenter's comments unfair?
0:01:16 > 0:01:21Did Bruce's banter go too far this time? We asked the team at Strictly.
0:01:34 > 0:01:36Maybe we'll call them Bruce-isms,
0:01:36 > 0:01:39the kind of thing that only he can get away with.
0:01:39 > 0:01:43Now, a finale cliffhanger left us all in bits
0:01:43 > 0:01:48at the end of series one, but Last Tango In Halifax has returned.
0:01:48 > 0:01:51Alan is back from the clutches of death and both he and Celia
0:01:51 > 0:01:55are certainly seizing the day in the opening episode
0:01:55 > 0:01:56of this returning series.
0:01:56 > 0:01:58Book the registrar and get on with it
0:01:58 > 0:02:01and worry about everything else afterwards.
0:02:15 > 0:02:19Now, with Doctor Who celebrating its much-billed half century,
0:02:19 > 0:02:22BBC Two reminded us where it all began.
0:02:22 > 0:02:26The special one-off drama An Adventure In Space And Time
0:02:26 > 0:02:29travelled back to 1963 and the people who came up with what would
0:02:29 > 0:02:33go on to become the longest-running science-fiction series ever made.
0:02:33 > 0:02:35Why does it have to change?
0:02:35 > 0:02:39Why do things always have to change? Why can't we just go on as we are?
0:02:39 > 0:02:40And your reaction's proving
0:02:40 > 0:02:43that anything to do with this time traveller
0:02:43 > 0:02:45is always warmly received.
0:03:04 > 0:03:07So just some of your views on what you've been watching this week
0:03:07 > 0:03:09and I'm now joined by the person who runs the BBC,
0:03:09 > 0:03:11Director-General Tony Hall.
0:03:11 > 0:03:12Welcome to you.
0:03:12 > 0:03:13Thank you very much.
0:03:13 > 0:03:16Just before we put some of our viewer comments to you,
0:03:16 > 0:03:19let's have a look back at some of your career.
0:03:19 > 0:03:25Tony Hall joined the BBC as a news trainee a long time ago, in 1973.
0:03:25 > 0:03:29But quickly, the bright guy from Birkenhead would rise through the ranks,
0:03:29 > 0:03:33becoming Editor of News and Current Affairs at just 36.
0:03:33 > 0:03:37By 1990, he'd become the Head of News, overseeing the launch
0:03:37 > 0:03:42of BBC Radio 5 Live, BBC News 24 and BBC News Online,
0:03:42 > 0:03:46then, in 2001, after nearly 30 years,
0:03:46 > 0:03:49Tony Hall left the corporation to become Chief Executive
0:03:49 > 0:03:51at the Royal Opera House.
0:03:51 > 0:03:54He was appointed Chair of the Cultural Olympiad Board
0:03:54 > 0:03:57and, in 2010, became Lord Hall.
0:03:57 > 0:03:59Earlier this year,
0:03:59 > 0:04:03following the traumatic departure of the Director-General George Entwistle,
0:04:03 > 0:04:05Tony Hall got the call from the BBC
0:04:05 > 0:04:08and came back to take on the top job.
0:04:10 > 0:04:13It's a very impressive CV, if I may say so.
0:04:13 > 0:04:15But, of course, now you're running the organisation
0:04:15 > 0:04:18and the bucks stops with you and we asked viewers for comments
0:04:18 > 0:04:21and they've come up with quite a few. Are you ready for this?
0:04:21 > 0:04:22- I'm ready.- OK.
0:04:22 > 0:04:25First up, it's arts on TV and you promised at an extra 20%
0:04:25 > 0:04:28for arts programmes.
0:04:28 > 0:04:31Great news for culture vultures, but what about the others?
0:04:31 > 0:04:33Here's how the announcement was received
0:04:33 > 0:04:34by some of our contributors.
0:04:51 > 0:04:56So are you investing more money to pay for the pleasures of a few?
0:04:56 > 0:05:01No, I profoundly believe that excellence is for everybody,
0:05:01 > 0:05:03so I like the idea that great plays,
0:05:03 > 0:05:06that the public are often paying for through subsidies anyway,
0:05:06 > 0:05:07should be available.
0:05:07 > 0:05:09There is a licence fee freeze and therefore
0:05:09 > 0:05:13that money that goes into the arts comes from elsewhere, so...
0:05:13 > 0:05:14Yes, it'll mean prioritising.
0:05:14 > 0:05:17There are things which the BBC, I think, can do really well -
0:05:17 > 0:05:21arts, music, drama, natural history - and I want to make sure that every
0:05:21 > 0:05:24penny I can get from making the BBC more efficient and more
0:05:24 > 0:05:28effective can go on the screen where our viewers would expect it to be.
0:05:28 > 0:05:31OK, next is the whole issue of channel loyalty
0:05:31 > 0:05:34and issues to do with BBC One, BBC Two, their relationship.
0:05:34 > 0:05:35- So have a look at this.- Yeah.
0:05:35 > 0:05:38I don't understand why viewers are occasionally messed around
0:05:38 > 0:05:41by apparently arbitrary swapping of programmes
0:05:41 > 0:05:43between BBC One and BBC Two.
0:05:43 > 0:05:46Case in point was, a few weekends ago, the Indian Grand Prix
0:05:46 > 0:05:50was carried live on BBC One, so all of the BBC One programmes
0:05:50 > 0:05:52that morning were swapped to BBC Two.
0:05:52 > 0:05:55Another case in point was The Great British Bake Off,
0:05:55 > 0:05:58which has become a very popular programme on BBC Two.
0:05:58 > 0:06:03We're now told that the next season would be on BBC One. Why?
0:06:03 > 0:06:06I wondered if Mr Hall could explain some of the politics
0:06:06 > 0:06:10behind these sorts of programme swapping decisions.
0:06:10 > 0:06:14- So why do that?- So Mr Currer makes a really good point.
0:06:14 > 0:06:18I think BBC Two is an incubator for great ideas.
0:06:18 > 0:06:21You want BBC Two to take risks, to try out new things,
0:06:21 > 0:06:24like, for example, Have I Got News For You started on BBC Two,
0:06:24 > 0:06:25ended up on BBC One.
0:06:25 > 0:06:28Then I think if you've been a BBC Two viewer in on the Bake Off,
0:06:28 > 0:06:30now, of course, millions more would watch it on BBC One,
0:06:30 > 0:06:32I should take pride I was there first.
0:06:32 > 0:06:36But I think taking that viewer's response to moving programmes
0:06:36 > 0:06:38from BBC Two to BBC One or vice versa,
0:06:38 > 0:06:41we probably need to do a lot more explaining about why we're making
0:06:41 > 0:06:44programme decisions like that when we make them
0:06:44 > 0:06:47so people understand and I hope will accept them too,
0:06:47 > 0:06:49cos we're just trying to give people a really good service.
0:06:49 > 0:06:52You're planning big changes to the BBC's iPlayer,
0:06:52 > 0:06:57so 30-day catch-up and exclusive material and so on,
0:06:57 > 0:07:00but a person who just has a TV becomes a second-class citizen.
0:07:00 > 0:07:03- You have a two-tier system, effectively.- No, not really.
0:07:03 > 0:07:05They're missing out on the iPlayer exclusive.
0:07:05 > 0:07:09Well, but iPlayer exclusives should then end up on our channels at some point.
0:07:09 > 0:07:12We just had a very nice little Doctor Who video that's gone out
0:07:12 > 0:07:15on the iPlayer. I mean, those scenes will appear elsewhere as well.
0:07:15 > 0:07:17I don't want anyone to lose out,
0:07:17 > 0:07:20but I do want the BBC, with all the power that we've got,
0:07:20 > 0:07:21to help educate people,
0:07:21 > 0:07:24to show people some of the benefits of changing technology,
0:07:24 > 0:07:28something we've, historically, always done and I want us to do that in the future too.
0:07:28 > 0:07:30The joy of this programme is we see what the BBC puts out,
0:07:30 > 0:07:32we also see the response to it,
0:07:32 > 0:07:35but we see what the BBC says and does about the response
0:07:35 > 0:07:38and that causes some concern to viewers,
0:07:38 > 0:07:40so just watch this.
0:07:40 > 0:07:43I'm quite surprised that whenever someone from BBC comes
0:07:43 > 0:07:47on the Points of View programme to discuss viewers' criticism,
0:07:47 > 0:07:51they always seem to justify whatever they or BBC have done.
0:07:51 > 0:07:56If BBC always gets it right and viewers are always wrong,
0:07:56 > 0:07:59then what is the point of having a programme called Points Of View?
0:07:59 > 0:08:01We don't hold our hands up enough.
0:08:01 > 0:08:03Very good point from Mr Hebbar.
0:08:03 > 0:08:07I mean, I think we should own up to things we don't get right.
0:08:07 > 0:08:08We're a creative organisation,
0:08:08 > 0:08:12that means making lots of decisions which are arguable
0:08:12 > 0:08:15and one of the areas I think we have listened very strongly
0:08:15 > 0:08:18is on the credit squeeze at the end of programmes where suddenly
0:08:18 > 0:08:21you lose the credits and you have what's coming up next.
0:08:21 > 0:08:23Now, we've got a way of delivering both the credits
0:08:23 > 0:08:26AND also what's coming up next as well.
0:08:26 > 0:08:29Often we ask programmes for responses on this show
0:08:29 > 0:08:33and they give us a written statement from a press officer, is that right?
0:08:33 > 0:08:37Well, I hope that programme makers in this organisation come forward
0:08:37 > 0:08:38and talk about what they're doing.
0:08:38 > 0:08:41And I mean, you know, we're in an organisation
0:08:41 > 0:08:43which increasingly people want to feel involved in
0:08:43 > 0:08:46and they should feel involved in and we should explain ourselves.
0:08:46 > 0:08:50OK, moving on, the BBC Trust, the governing body set up to make
0:08:50 > 0:08:52sure the corporation does what it's supposed to do.
0:08:52 > 0:08:57Is it as independent as it should be? Not all viewers think so.
0:08:57 > 0:08:59We're told that the BBC Trust
0:08:59 > 0:09:02is completely independent of government.
0:09:02 > 0:09:05However, all of its members are selected by ministers
0:09:05 > 0:09:10and the Chairman is quite plainly a political appointee.
0:09:10 > 0:09:14I believe that a bit more honesty starting right at the top here
0:09:14 > 0:09:18would begin to improve the BBC's relationship
0:09:18 > 0:09:20with its licence-fee payers.
0:09:20 > 0:09:23So he doesn't trust the Trust.
0:09:23 > 0:09:26Well, Mr Wilson, what I would say to him,
0:09:26 > 0:09:30and it's a really important and good question, is the Trust
0:09:30 > 0:09:33are and must be independent of government,
0:09:33 > 0:09:35independent of political parties.
0:09:35 > 0:09:38The Chairman is appointed by government but I can tell you
0:09:38 > 0:09:41the Chairman is a phenomenally independent-minded person
0:09:41 > 0:09:42and that's exactly what you want,
0:09:42 > 0:09:45but they should not be independent of the people,
0:09:45 > 0:09:47our owners, the licence-fee payers, who are paying for us.
0:09:47 > 0:09:50They've got to be working on THEIR behalf to make sure
0:09:50 > 0:09:54that my part of the organisation and everybody around here
0:09:54 > 0:09:58are doing the things that our licence-fee payers, our owners, expect of us.
0:09:58 > 0:10:00You think about the payoff scandal,
0:10:00 > 0:10:03you think about they appointed the last DG when they maybe
0:10:03 > 0:10:07shouldn't have done... Not a lot of confidence in them.
0:10:07 > 0:10:11Well, look, we've had a bad year or so, I mean, everybody knows that.
0:10:11 > 0:10:14But what the Chairman of the Trust and myself are working on now
0:10:14 > 0:10:17is a way that, in the next three and a half years of this charter,
0:10:17 > 0:10:21that he and I can work out an effective way to work together
0:10:21 > 0:10:24so that our licence-fee payers are getting what they want out of us.
0:10:24 > 0:10:26OK, sport now.
0:10:26 > 0:10:29And the question of whether we should be trying to show
0:10:29 > 0:10:32more of it or just give up. Have a look at this viewer's comment.
0:10:50 > 0:10:53- So shut the sports department maybe. - No.
0:10:53 > 0:10:57Well, I hope Mr Cleal wouldn't want us to shut the sports department.
0:10:57 > 0:11:00From the tone of his e-mail, I think he wouldn't want us to do that.
0:11:00 > 0:11:02Look, in the last six months,
0:11:02 > 0:11:05we've announced we're bringing the FA Cup back to the BBC.
0:11:05 > 0:11:09I think that's an amazing piece of work by a lot of people in this organisation
0:11:09 > 0:11:12and the reason we're doing that is because we can cover
0:11:12 > 0:11:14and make an event out of sport or other things,
0:11:14 > 0:11:18bring the nation together for these things better than any other organisation can
0:11:18 > 0:11:21and that's why, working with BT, we won that particular deal.
0:11:21 > 0:11:24But listen, in the coming year, we've got the World Cup, we've got the Commonwealth Games,
0:11:24 > 0:11:28we've got the Winter Olympics at Sochi coming up shortly as well,
0:11:28 > 0:11:30we've got some extremely major events there,
0:11:30 > 0:11:33which we do very, very well indeed, which I hope millions can enjoy.
0:11:33 > 0:11:35We've lost a lot, haven't we?
0:11:35 > 0:11:40We have and we've got to make sure that we spend our money wisely,
0:11:40 > 0:11:42but what I'm trying to say is that, actually, I think
0:11:42 > 0:11:46even within the constraints of the licence fee, there are things
0:11:46 > 0:11:48we can do, like the FA Cup or like the Olympics,
0:11:48 > 0:11:51where we bring something very special from the BBC to people.
0:11:51 > 0:11:54All right, so sport stays, for the foreseeable future anyway.
0:11:54 > 0:11:58What about other areas of TV? I know you've talked about wanting to make
0:11:58 > 0:12:01brave TV, what do you mean by that?
0:12:01 > 0:12:04What I want is programme makers
0:12:04 > 0:12:07and, more important on this programme, our audiences,
0:12:07 > 0:12:10to recognise that you get certain things in the BBC
0:12:10 > 0:12:12that you wouldn't get by other means
0:12:12 > 0:12:16other than by funding it publicly through the licence fee.
0:12:16 > 0:12:19So when I look over the past week at Children In Need
0:12:19 > 0:12:23and the heart that the BBC showed there in all the things that people
0:12:23 > 0:12:27did to raise money, the heart, our audience showed by supporting that fundraising
0:12:27 > 0:12:30to the tune of £31 million, unbelievable!
0:12:30 > 0:12:36Or I sit back and watch dramas like Top Of The Lake or Peaky Blinders.
0:12:36 > 0:12:39These are really pushing boundaries, this is what I mean
0:12:39 > 0:12:42by having ambition, having courage, having edge,
0:12:42 > 0:12:45trying not just to do the obvious, not just try to do things
0:12:45 > 0:12:48which are following, but to take a lead and push boundaries.
0:12:48 > 0:12:50What about yourself, Lord Hall?
0:12:50 > 0:12:54Well, I want to make sure that the BBC is in good shape,
0:12:54 > 0:12:57in good heart, does great programmes.
0:12:57 > 0:13:00I'm enjoying myself at the moment and that's sufficient enough for me.
0:13:00 > 0:13:03- Tony Hall, thank you very much. - My pleasure, thank you.
0:13:03 > 0:13:06And that is it for us this week. In fact, for this series.
0:13:06 > 0:13:08We'll be back in the spring.
0:13:08 > 0:13:10In the meantime, you can, of course, continue to talk to us.
0:13:10 > 0:13:12Lots of ways to get in touch.
0:13:12 > 0:13:13By post at...
0:13:17 > 0:13:21By phone, the number is charged as a local-rate call from any landline.
0:13:21 > 0:13:22Here it is...
0:13:26 > 0:13:28Or you can join the message boarders...
0:13:31 > 0:13:32And this e-mail...
0:13:34 > 0:13:36Or, finally, we will be keeping the conversation
0:13:36 > 0:13:39flowing on Twitter at...
0:13:39 > 0:13:42Till our next series in the spring, goodbye.
0:13:42 > 0:13:45Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd