BBC channel controllers and other executives could see their bonuses hit if the services they run fail to deliver on remits, under the corporation's new governance regime to be introduced next year.
Caroline Thomson, the BBC strategy director, confirmed today that financial sanctions against individual executives was being considered as part of the new governance regime, which will be introduced under the corporation's new charter from the beginning of 2007.
Under the new regime, the BBC governors will be replaced by a BBC Trust, which will conduct a public value test for any new TV, radio or new media service the corporation wants to launch.
Existing BBC services will be issued with service licences, which will be policed by the Trust.
If any service fails to meet the commitments of its service licences, the BBC Trust is expected to have the power to impose sanctions.
At the Oxford Media Convention today Ms Thomson was asked whether the sanctions could include individual executives not getting their bonus.
"That is one of the things that is envisaged," she replied.
In the same session at Oxford, the proposed new BBC governance regime was criticised as inadequate by John Hambley, the chairman of the Satellite and Cable Broadcasters Group.
"Public value test is designed for one purpose only - to further expansion of the BBC. It also won't apply to many areas of BBC activity, such as the commercial side, executive pay, and whether the BBC should be backing high definition television," he said.
"It will apply to the scope and scale of the BBC only in a way that will expand it."
Mr Hambley also questioned the sense in issuing service licences to existing BBC channels and services, which would effectively give them an endorsement up to 2011.
He accused the BBC of going back on promises made by the chairman, Michael Grade, about the new system of governance at last year's Oxford Media Convention.
"In the year since then, the promises have started to crumble. There has been a massive reneging on what was promised a year ago," Mr Hambley said.
However, Ms Thomson defended the proposed public value test and service licences, which are expected to be given the green light in the government white paper on BBC charter renewal shortly.
"The service licences will be tight and difficult. There's no question of them being somehow rubber-stamped through by the BBC Trust," she said.
"We do think it's perfectly possible that a new service could fail public value tests. The first BBC3 proposal did fail the public value test."
Ms Thomson said the BBC was already preparing 26 service licences for its various TV channels, radio stations and its interactive and new media output.
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