BBC executives envision a leaner, digital-first public broadcaster

The BBC announced last week that it was scrapping traditional broadcasts of BBC Three and BBC Scotland, as it seeks to make savings of more than £500m by 2028. So what? This is about more than cost-cutting. The world’s oldest national broadcaster is being reimagined for a digital era shaped by streaming and vertical video, but the process could diminish the BBC’s ability to carry out its core functions. This shake-up comprises • turning the BBC into a slimmer, digital-first organisation; • content partnerships with YouTube and other tech platforms; and • a reformed licence fee, possibly replaced by a household levy.

Hard up. The BBC’s finances have been squeezed for some time. Only 80% of households pay the £180 licence fee, and numbers are falling. Meanwhile habits are shifting. Video-sharing platforms and streamers now account for 69% of viewing time among 24- to 34-year-olds. Brace, brace. The broadcaster has already made wide-ranging cuts, trimming its local radio output and ending hundreds of jobs at the World Service. But the latest efficiency drive is the biggest in years.

Some 2,000 jobs will be shed, which is about 10% of the BBC’s workforce. Jumping ship. Several big names left the BBC to set up their own media ventures. These include former Today programme host Amol Rajan, who has said that the BBC is set to “get smaller at an accelerating rate, and I want to go where the action is”. Non-essential viewing. It is hard to make a case for keeping some of the things on the chopping block. BBC Scotland, for example, was launched in 2019 and has not been embraced by a grateful nation, with just 12% of Scots tuning in.

It will continue life on iPlayer, as will BBC Three, which will save on transmitter fees. But BBC heartland programming is also in peril. This includes scrapping Radio 4’s The World Tonight, Thinking Allowed and You and Yours . The commissioning budget of Radio 5 Live, which has 5.5m listeners, will see considerable reductions, and Radio 4 Extra is being closed. Old news. The savings drive is falling disproportionately on BBC News, which is reportedly set for cuts of 15%.

The roles of health editor and medical editor are being merged. So are the positions of education editor and social affairs editor. Related articles: Radio 4’s The Playground Murder is a true crime masterclass Ofcom rejects UAE-backed bid to buy Telegraph There are fears this will leave the corporation unable to properly hold the government to account and fulfil its duties as a public service broadcaster. The National Union of Journalists said the cuts could jeopardise “the public’s right to know.”

Tech bro. Leading the efficiency drive is the BBC’s new director general, Matt Brittin, who spent two decades at Google. He has talked about creating a “public service algorithm” and turning iPlayer into an app that hosts content from creators, similar to YouTube. The context for Brittin’s shake up is the renewal of the corporation’s charter next year and the general agreement that the current license model is unsustainable, at least in its existing form.

A government white paper expected later this year may include a ‘YouTube tax’ or a levy on broadband as part of a new funding model. What’s more… Just £200m of savings have been found so far, meaning there are far more cuts to come. Photograph by George Konig/Keystone Features via Getty Images Media BBC