BBC to axe key TV channels in cost-cutting drive
The BBC will close BBC Three, BBC Scotland and BBC Radio 4 Extra linear broadcast services in spring 2027 as part of cost-cutting measures, the corporation has announced.
In addition, around 100 jobs will be cut at BBC News, as the corporation faces pressure to make savings of £500 million by 2028.
A number of roles will also be cut as a result of the broadcast closures, including ten in Scotland.
BBC Scotland will remain a channel on iPlayer, but will no longer be a broadcast channel on television. Content will also be available on BBC One and BBC Two in Scotland.
BBC Three content, which is aimed at 16 to 34-year-olds, will be available on BBC iPlayer and on other platforms, including YouTube.
It is not the first time BBC Three has been cut from linear TV. It returned as a fully-fledged TV channel in January 2022, six years after it moved online.
The channel has since been responsible for major hits including Fleabag, Normal People and Killing Eve.
Programmes from Radio 4 Extra will still be available on BBC Sounds – and The Daily Service will be on BBC Sounds and local radio.
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In a note to staff setting out the changes, BBC director general Matt Brittin said: “We need to make every pound work harder for audiences as we respond to the immediate cost pressures and reinvent the BBC for a changing world. We all know that means tough choices.”
He added: “Much of the great content they currently carry will still be found where audiences already enjoy them on iPlayer and Sounds. While this follows media speculation, I recognise the confirmation of this news will be hard for audiences and colleagues.”
New director of BBC News Rachel Jupp will also lay out plans for further savings early next year, while other divisions will confirm savings plans in the coming months.
This follows earlier savings announced in BBC Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Local and Speech and Sounds.
At the weekend the BBC confirmed its long-running home renovation TV series DIY SOS will be “rested” next year amid the corporation’s ongoing “savings challenges”.
The BBC also cancelled plans to build a new bespoke studio for The Archers at its Tea Factory in Digbeth amid its cost-cutting measures.
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