Television channels BBC Three and BBC Scotland are to close and the Radio 4 Extra radio station will be scrapped, as part of the corporation’s drive to cut £500m in costs. Both TV channels are to move online as executives try to plug a funding crisis and adapt the broadcaster’s output for audiences that increasingly watch content on demand. All three outlets will close in the spring.
Matt Brittin, the BBC’s director general, said the corporation needed to “make every pound work harder for audiences as we respond to the immediate cost pressures and reinvent the BBC for a changing world”. He added: “We all know that means tough choices.” However, even with the closures that come on top of other cuts already announced, BBC insiders said the corporation was not even halfway to meeting its £500m savings target. Only about £200m has been cut so far, suggesting even more controversial cuts will have to be made over the next year to plug the funding gap.
It marks the second time that BBC Three’s linear TV channel has been closed, having been moved online in 2016 but brought back in 2022. The Guardian revealed this month that the channels were likely to be axed. BBC Three, which is aimed at young audiences, launched shows including Gavin and Stacey, Fleabag and Killing Eve.
However, it was an obvious candidate to move online and have more of its content placed on YouTube, where younger audiences have migrated. Typically, about 4% of the UK population watch the channel live in a week. The BBC promised there would be increased investment in content for younger audiences.
It has already cancelled the high-profile BBC Three show, RuPaul’s Drag Race UK. BBC Scotland’s viewership was seen as too low to justify the cost of keeping it on air, with its digital audience increasing via the BBC’s iPlayer. Its content will also be available on BBC One and BBC Two in Scotland.
The decision to close Radio 4 Extra came after it was decided much of its content could be accessed digitally, via the BBC Sounds app. The station reached an audience of 1.4 million a week, according to the most recent Rajar data. There has already been severe internal criticism from BBC staff over where the cuts are being made.
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