Speaking at the MediaGuardian Changing Media summit, BBC Director General Mark Thompson said the company needs to reach savings of US$580 million over the next three years on top of the $760 million that has been shaved in recent years, AdWeek reported Friday. Thompson said the BBC will also pursue collaborative efforts with commercial media.

UK politicians and broadcasting executives have questioned the BBC's guaranteed $5.1 billion annual license fee income while commercial rivals are seeing their revenue greatly reduced.
The BBC's pursuit of savings moves to ensure its borrowing limits are not exceeded. Cost cutting measures could involve further job losses on top of the 7,200 staff already cut and another 1,200 jobs still under negotiation, Thompson said, according to AdWeek.

While other media groups struggle for any form of revenue amid the economic crisis, Thompson has said the BBC is prepared to take "tangible, measurable steps to partner, support and share some of its advantages with other media players." This will involve regional news collaboration, facility cooperation with independent television authority ITV and consortium negotiations between BBC Worldwide and Channel 4. Finally, the BBC has offered the use of its on-demand platform iPlayer, AdWeek reported.

"A situation where the BBC thrives and the rest of the UK media struggles is, for a whole number of reasons, not a satisfactory state of affairs," Thompson said. "This efficiency story is by no means complete."