December 2012
Featured in this insight: IT & telecommunications, Media & publishing
BBC suffers knock to reputation from Jimmy Savile scandal according to poll: The latest opinion poll on behalf of MediaGuardian has seen the BBC suffering significant reputation damage following their controversial refusal to release a report broadcast on the notorious Jimmy Savile case.
Nearly half the public polled said they have less faith in the BBC since the scandal began – 49% of respondents trust the BBC less than they did before, while of these, 19% claimed they trust the BBC "much less than before" and 30% "slightly less than before".
Furthermore, 33% of the 300 people polled also blame the BBC for "Jimmy Savile's behaviour", even though there are numerous allegations that he carried out his abuse in a variety of locations.
A total of 48% of the respondents felt the Savile affair was "the worst crisis" in the BBC's history. When asked if the BBC needs a radical overhaul, 62% said yes, with 28% strongly agreeing and 34% slightly agreeing.
In addition, over 54% of the surveyants agreed with the statement that the £145.50 a year licence fee is a waste of money and should be abolished – 34% strongly agree and 20% slightly agree. This is significant since the BBC’s current licence fee deal ends in 2017.
Despite the damage done to their reputation however, the BBC remains the most trusted source of UK news (voted by 39%), ahead of ITV (13%), Sky News (10%), the Guardian (8%) and the Daily Mail (6%).
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