BBC Three and BBC Scotland Set to Close In Broadcaster’s Latest Cost Cuts

In an unprecedented upheaval, the BBC is set to close its BBC Three and BBC Scotland TV channels in the spring. The news comes as the British broadcaster attempts to make savings of £500 million ($670m) over two years. The services will become online only, the BBC said, meaning they’ll continue to produce and host some content on streaming service iPlayer. Radio 4 Extra will also close. 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.” On the closure of linear broadcast services, 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.” Brittin warned upon taking up the top job in May that the organization would need to take drastic measures if his company is to come out the other side of this evolve-or-die period for traditional broadcasters. In June this year, it was confirmed that the BBC would be cutting around 550 jobs, slashing content spending by £80 million ($107 million) over two years and “reviewing” its broadcast TV channels. Tuesday’s news is likely a development of that review, but the writing was on the wall when the BBC said last month it would be dropping one of its more iconic BBC Three shows, RuPaul’s Drag Race U.K. The channel is specifically targeted at young audiences, having launched hugely successful series like Fleabag and Gavin & Stacey. It moved online in 2016 but was reinstated as a channel in 2022. Among other cancelled programs are Celebrity Mastermind, Live at the Apollo, Football Focus and Ski Sunday. The total number of job losses from this cost-cutting push is projected to be around 1,800 to 2000 staffers by the end of the two years. The recently appointed head of BBC News, Rachel Jupp, also announced on Tuesday that £5.5m ($7.3m) of savings were being proposed, representing the closure of around 100 roles. Britain’s SAG-AFTRA equivalent, Equity, released a statement in response to the BBC Three, BBC Scotland and BBC Radio 4 closures. “Today’s news […] will have varying impacts for Equity members and, of course, audiences across the U.K.,” the performing arts union began. “The loss of Radio 4 Extra in its current format will be a significant blow to the income of audio artists. The channel currently airs archival programmes and our members are paid for these repeats. But from April 2027, only some of Radio 4 Extra’s content will be available on BBC Sounds. This will therefore be a reduction in income for audio artists and in the BBC’s overall output of scripted audio,” they said. “Meanwhile, moving BBC Three and BBC Scotland online should not affect income for our members, as Equity has agreements [that] cover usage rights and fees for broadcasting content across both online and linear channels,” continued the statement. “We have also had assurances that commissioning will not decrease as a result of these moves.” However, the union expressed concern about the BBC’s proposal that some BBC Three content will be made specifically for YouTube. “It is currently unclear how secondary payments will function for work that airs initially on linear broadcast or iPlayer, then is repeated on YouTube — but Equity is clear that any repeats on YouTube must be properly remunerated and must not lead to a drop in income for members.” Equity added that the announcement “does not signal a thriving BBC” and should prompt worry among the industry. “But it doesn’t have to be this way,” the union said, urging the BBC to make the most of its ongoing Charter renewal: “This is an exceptional opportunity to refound the BBC and the union will continue lobbying decision-makers to back our vision for a truly revitalised public service broadcaster.”