STAFF at one of the BBC’s flagship current affairs shows fear it may be axed after 46 years.
According to The Sun, Newsnight could be taken off air amid the broadcaster's plans to save £500 million over the next three years.
A source told the publication: “Everyone is concerned for Newsnight and how it will fare in the next cuts.
“We’ve been warned there are likely budget reductions and revisions next year. It’s a worrying time.”
In 2023, the number of staff on the programme was already reduced from 57 to 23 – with the special investigations team cut entirely.
The BBC has not confirmed any decision to end the show, saying only that BBC News will contribute to the savings programme.
A spokesperson said: “We’re very proud of Newsnight’s success; since its reformat, it has significantly increased its audiences, won an RTS (Royal Television Society) award and is now being moved to a peak-time slot on Friday evenings.
“As we have said, the BBC needs to save £500m over the next three years and BBC News will play its part in contributing to those savings.”
It comes amid a decade of cuts at the broadcaster.
The BBC announced in March 2023 that it was to cut 1000 hours of TV in order to save money, with half of that coming from sport.
In the same year, the corporation announced it was scrapping its in-house chamber choir, the BBC Singers, and reducing salaried orchestral posts across the BBC English Orchestras by around 20%.
In December 2022 it said that it was making £11m worth of cuts in local radio, which saw its 39 stations required to share content and broadcast less localised content.
Back in 2016, the BBC said it needed to cut £800m worth of costs, with £80m of that coming from news.
The move saw the Andrew Neil Show axed in 2020, along with 450 jobs in English regional TV news and current affairs, local radio and online news.
