The Rest is Entertainment podcast with Richard Osman is really interesting, because he basically talks about the finances of TV a lot. One thing he mentions is that the BBC funding has been cut dramatically and that affects the sort of TV it has to make. In particular, things that are topical have little repeat or resale value. So in the world of panel shows, something like Mock the Week gets cut because it's harder to sell, whereas something like Would I Lie To You can be watched and rewatched at any time. He mentioned that sketch shows have died a death on TV because they're very expensive because of the number of different scenes required. Meanwhile formulaic stuff like property shows and quiz shows are very cheap to churn out quickly.
Also the BBC World Service has been merged with BBC News, meaning they're expected to provide the same service with a vastly reduced budget (although apparently they're going back on this). The BBC World Service along with the British Council are two areas or soft power that the government have cut massively, and made to run like businesses rather than government institutions, which I guess fits in with this insular, inward-looking government.
Like so many things with this government (councils, universities), you're paying more but getting less, because the money the central government used to put in has disappeared, and service providers are having to put their prices up to make up the shortfall while also cutting costs.
