BDA Broadcasting Makes Three Jobs Redundant
Noting the “harsh economic realities” and various challenges they face, the Bermuda Broadcasting Company said it was with great reluctance they had to make three people redundant today in “order to decrease costs and retain our financial viability.”
A BBC spokesperson said, “The Bermuda Broadcasting Company has been in a state of transition for several years and harsh economic realities have forced the company to make some very difficult decisions.
“We are compelled to make the jobs of three people redundant today in order to decrease costs and retain our financial viability. We have done so after consultation with the Bermuda Industrial Union and in accordance with our Collective Bargaining Agreement.
“Making redundancies is a gruelling, heart-wrenching process and every alternative option was thoroughly explored before coming to this decision.
“To state unequivocally: BBC does not let go of staff lightly and would much rather create new jobs. But as we discard obsolete business models and embrace the new technologies that make us leaner, better equipped to meet the challenges of the new media age, and to protect the livelihoods of the majority of staff who work here, sacrifices have to be made.
“We operate in a challenging and highly-competitive environment in which the pirating of television content is rife and certain corporations aggressively seek to expand their footprint by reselling BBC-licensed programmes at a fraction of their true market value and often without our consent. Such practices undermine our ability to innovate, remain competitive and retain staff.
“The BBC, a legacy media company, is the longest-established broadcast station in Bermuda and we take our responsibilities very seriously. In addition, we are the only ABC and CBS affiliate stations located outside of the U.S. and, accordingly, we pay substantial fees for [and thereby own] local broadcast rights to some of the most popular network TV shows. Unfortunately, certain competitors use our company’s content every day, without any compensation, which ultimately cuts deeply into our bottom line.
“Local television production is labour-intensive and costly and we bolster locally-made content with the purchase of rights for high profile television events such as the FIFA World Cup and the Olympic Games.
“We also have challenges that put financial stress on our radio programming, such as highly unreasonable demands for certain music royalties, which hurts us and local retailers and businesses that play our stations for the public to enjoy. Then there is the advertising revenue that has been sucked out of the local media to the benefit of social media.
“All over the world, media companies are collapsing, contracting or consolidating. Not only legacy firms but also relative newcomers like web-based Buzzfeed News and the Huffington Post, who recently shed hundreds of jobs.
“On many fronts, the BBC is battling against large, foreign-owned corporations and other entities that simply don’t play fair in Bermuda and certainly do not share the sense of civic duty that drives much of our decision-making.
“Fortunately, Government is aware of the issues that negatively affect the broadcasting sector and we are working on solutions to ensure that the BBC continues to provide its valued broadcasting services. Three years ago we invested in state-of-the-art equipment that digitized our entire broadcasting operation. The BBC won back-to-back national awards for its technical innovation. We can only satisfy viewers and sponsors if we continue to stay ahead of the curve.
“It is with great reluctance that we make these redundancies today. The BBC first started broadcasting [as ZBM1] more than 70 years ago and is an integral part of the fabric of this community. And it’s as true today as it was when we first went on air – that an independent news media is vital to the overall health of our island democracy.
“We value every individual we employ and part with those persons made redundant today with deep and sincere regret. The BBC reluctantly makes these cuts now in order to fight another day and continue to broadcast to the people of this country.”
That’s no problem. Fintech is right around the corner. Opportunities for everyone then!
Fintech!
Fintech,your kidding right? That’s even worse.
You mean ‘finish jobs’ because that’s what Bermuda’s about to be pretty soon.
Where’s the uproar from the unions, plp. That’s right. The plp’s in power. Smh
Maybe they can go work for the BIU, BPSU or People’s Campaign. Are any of them hiring?!?!
If they got the right last name some new civil service jobs can be created for them, you know with all the new taxes about to be introduced.
Or maybe if we host another America’s Cup.
LMAO
Not for $77m with no return to the people. Certain people and OBA made their money no more gifts for them!
what’s wrong with AC? did you READ THE AUDIT? we should be hosting AC events EVERY YEAR! ask any taxi driver!
It would solve a few problems right now though wouldn’t it.
Don’t worry though. You will make sure we never get thousands of spendy billionaires coming here again.
Well let de spendy billionaires foot the bill themseleves, instead of fooling us about trickle down.
LMAO
Another moronic comment from Bermuda’s biggest idiot.
Oh u mean like the one your finance minister wishes he had?! Shut up muppet. You are the dumbest of the bunch.
we all know who we would like to see gone!
you can put lipstick on a pig but it will still be a pig
you can spend money on new equipment but if you have people in charge that don’t know how to run it you will get the same result
70 years and still can’t get it right
just before the last election the then minister responsible
for broadcasting was about to make changes to the broadcast act
but we never got to hear what they were.
BBC have 3 radio stations
inter island has 2
harper digital has 1
reggae 1
BBC have 3 radio stations maybe they need to hire a real radio station manger
if after 70 years and you still can’t get it right maybe it is time to get out off that business
Pray tell, who would you like to see gone “eyes wide open”? Perplexed as to your comment.
I sympathize with any individual losing their jobs but hopefully this will give all media outlets pause for thought on how Important it is to objectively cover politics in Bermuda.
You mean still lay offs I der the current administration!! I thought they where going g to out a stop to this and increase employment.
To think they can’t fix a little bus schedule people think they can run the island..
I guess OBA were too busy with looking under de hood to fix de bus schedule.
LMAO
Buses ran under the OBA. Trash was picked up twice a week. Taxes were lower. They didn’t tax rents and food. The defecit was lower. Business and consumet confidence were higher. Retail sales were higher. The economy was bigger. They weren”t reducing public services while introducing taxes on food and imports, increasing our cost of living, which is what the PLP is doing.
It is amazing to read some of the comments from both sides of the divide. The funny thing is that most of the rhetoric is so silly and infantile. We are all in this together and no matter how you slice it we suffer as a whole. Some may have more than other, and do not share, but the end always justifies the means. Three people are out of work , short or long term, and most of the comments center around which political party is doing or has done a good or bad job. Some of you need to spend your energy figuring out what you can do to help the situation or just stay on the sidelines and spew the vitriol on a recorder at home rather than in the public domain. It is growing tiresome to read! There is only ONE Bermuda ….ours!!!!!!!