With fierce competition from streaming services and the licence fee under threat, Tony Hall’s successor must get the corporation on the front foot
Tony Hall’s unexpected announcement that he is to step down as director general of the
BBC this summer means that one of the most important jobs in
British public life will shortly be up for grabs. The post is not for the faint-hearted. Lord Hall’s immediate predecessor, George Entwistle, managed only 54 days in 2012 before giving up, after a series of errors related to the Savile sex abuse scandal.
Mr Hall’s departure will be more orderly, though it is unclear whether the timing is of his choosing. In a message to staff he wrote that “if I followed my heart I would genuinely never want to leave”. But the argument that the corporation needs a new leader to steer it through a government-ordered “health check” in 2022, followed by charter negotiations five years later, makes some sense. It is possible that the next director general will face the biggest fight of the corporation’s life.