BBC To Cancel Shows & “Review” TV Networks As It Cuts Content Spend By $107M

The BBC‘s new director general has announced plans to slash commissioning spend across its TV, radio, and news divisions by £80M ($107M) over the next two years.

Matt Brittin, the former Google executive, told staff in an email on Wednesday (full text below) that the savings plan will mean canceling shows and reviewing the BBC’s “broadcast TV channels and radio network portfolio as audiences move online.”

“The scale of savings requires tough choices, careful work and won’t all be ready at once. We are committed to letting you know as soon as we have plans in your area. All divisions will be making significant savings,” he said.

Brittin did not provide specifics, but said more details will be announced in the coming days. The efforts form part of wider BBC plans to slash costs by £500M ($670M) over the next three years, expanding on an existing target worth £1.5B.

A total of between 1,800 and 2,000 roles will be laid off across the British broadcaster in the coming months, contributing to a sense of gloom among the workforce.

Some 550 roles will be slashed in the BBC’s news and nations divisions, which Brittin said will help deliver £160M of savings. He added that 700 roles will close in the BBC’s corporate divisions.

“Reductions of this scale inevitably mean some compulsory redundancies, though we will work hard to avoid this wherever we can. Many divisions have already opened voluntary redundancy windows; more will be opening today,” he explained.

“We live in very uncertain times. Our audiences rely on us every day to keep them informed, entertained and equipped to make sense of the world. Making savings while fulfilling our mission means a doubly difficult time for everyone.”

The bigger picture behind the cuts is that 94% of the UK population use the BBC every month, but fewer than 80% pay the £180 annual licence fee.

The BBC is attempting to bridge this gap as part of negotiations with the government over a new royal charter, which is effectively the corporation’s operating agreement for the coming years.

The BBC has eight national television channels, and there has long been speculation about reducing the portfolio by merging the likes of BBC2 and BBC4. The BBC also revived BBC3 in 2022 after initially closing the youth network, though the jury is out on whether this decision was a success.

Hello everyone,It’s almost a month since I started here, and I’ve been getting to know more of you and of the BBC. I’ve heard your belief in the mission, and your ambition to reinvent the BBC for the future – both of which I’m working on and will come back with more in September. Of course, you also want to know what the announced savings mean for you. It is important to me that you have clarity on this as soon as possible.

The scale of savings requires tough choices, careful work and won’t all be ready at once. We are committed to letting you know as soon as we have plans in your area. All divisions will be making significant savings. Today, some divisions are ready to set out the first phase of these plans, with more to follow.

We have first updates from News, Nations and Content. Together, by the end of this financial year, they deliver £160 million of cost savings, including staff and non-staff costs, and a net reduction of around 550 roles. This is part of the 1,800–2,000 roles announced to go over the next three years.

More savings will be set out in the months ahead, across all divisions. This includes corporate divisions where work is underway – we expect around 700 roles to close in these areas.

Reductions of this scale inevitably mean some compulsory redundancies, though we will work hard to avoid this wherever we can. Many divisions have already opened voluntary redundancy windows; more will be opening today.

We will also have to close some programmes. These are difficult choices and we will apply three guiding principles:

Sustain output with the highest audience value and impact.

Meet audiences where they are, reducing spend elsewhere. For example, we will reduce commissioning spend across Content, News and Nations by around £80 million in 2027–28 and review our broadcast TV channels and radio network portfolio as audiences move online.

Make the BBC simpler and faster – we must reduce duplication, clarify accountability, and increase the speed of decision making. This includes reducing senior leaders by at least 10%.

The News, Nations and Content divisions will set out more details in calls and updates over the coming days. For other divisions, leaders will update you with the latest progress on the size of the savings needed, the opening of voluntary redundancy windows and when you will hear more.

Aside from calls with your own teams, I will host an all-staff session on Tuesday, 23 June at 2pm BST, taking your questions, alongside Kate Phillips, Rhuanedd Richards and Jonathan Munro. Please do join if you can.

We live in very uncertain times. Our audiences rely on us every day to keep them informed, entertained and equipped to make sense of the world. Making savings while fulfilling our mission means a doubly difficult time for everyone. Do speak to your leaders and use the support that’s available. In the meantime, thank you for all you are doing.