The BBC has announced it will be bringing some major changes after revealing BBC Four and CBBC will no longer be TV channels.
Instead, they will be part of a new "digital-first" initiative being undertaken by the BBC, according to director-general Tim Davie. It was also announced to BBC staff on Thursday that 1,000 jobs will be cut across the massive broadcast company.
Other changes include the merging of BBC World News and BBC News Channel to create a single 24-hour TV news channel catering to both UK and worldwide audiences. Furthermore, Regional news programmes in Oxford and Cambridge will be absorbed into BBC's Southampton and Norwich operations.
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Mr Davie told staff: “This is our moment to build a digital-first BBC. Something genuinely new, a Reithian organisation for the digital age, a positive force for the UK and the world. Independent, impartial, constantly innovating and serving all. A fresh, new, global digital media organisation which has never been seen before.
“Driven by the desire to make life and society better for our licence fee payers and customers in every corner of the UK and beyond. They want us to keep the BBC relevant and fight for something that in 2022 is more important than ever.
“To do that we need to evolve faster and embrace the huge shifts in the market around us.”
It comes after the culture secretary announced in January that the licence fee will be frozen at £159 for the next two years, forcing the BBC to save an extra £285 million. The massive corporation has already experienced a wave of redundancies and cuts over the past decade due to below-inflation increases in the licence fee.
Mr Davie took over as director-general in September 2020 with the previous holder being Lord Tony Hall. Since then he has overseen a major slimming down of the BBC , with the 1,200 staff losing jobs in the last 18 months. He noted that the newly announced £200 million a year of cutes were "necessitated by the two-year licence fee feeze" and represent the majority of the "285 million a year "challenge" the BBC faces.
Philippa Childs, head of broadcasting union Bectu, said: “We recognise the need for organisations to change and adapt and welcome the BBC’s commitment to step up to the challenges of a changing media landscape and build a digital-first corporation.
“However, once again we see the impact of poorly judged political decisions on workers as the Government’s decision to freeze the licence fee has instigated these real-term job cuts.
“This announcement lays bare that below the political shrill about the BBC is the reality – hugely talented and dedicated people who work hard to deliver critical services to the nation and beyond are now facing yet more job losses and continued uncertainty.
“Bectu will fully engage in every aspect of these proposals and we will be doing everything we can to support our members. We will be working to ensure that change is not cost cutting for the sake of it, but truly does position the BBC strongly for the future and delivers the best possible outcomes for members.”
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