- The BBC is set to implement a slew of savings measures, including job cuts and a reduction in content spending.
- The BBC will slash 550 jobs and consider a further 700 layoffs as part of the measure.
- The move will hit the broadcaster’s Content, Nations and News teams.
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) will lay off around 550 employees as part of a big savings push. The public broadcaster will also “review” broadcast TV channels and slash content spending by $107 million over two years to reduce costs across functions and operations.
The new director general of the BBC, Matt Brittin, said in a memo on Wednesday that the company is looking at further job cuts, adding, “we live in very uncertain times.”
The job cuts will hit the BBC's Content, Nations and News teams. Layoffs of around 700 personnel in corporate and other areas are also being considered, as per The Hollywood Reporter.
According to Brittin's memo, the announced cuts are part of the 1,800-2,000 layoffs planned over the next three years.
Reductions in content commissioning spending across the BBC's radio, TV and news divisions will come up to $107 million over the next two years. Brittin stated that the broadcaster would “review” the viability of its “broadcast TV channels and radio network portfolio”, meaning some channels and content may disappear.
The BBC's layoffs come as the broadcaster is in the final stages of negotiations with the UK government over its future funding.
Reports of broad cost savings have been in doing the rounds for a while. In a leaked internal email in April, Rhodri Talfan Davies, the BBC's deputy director general, said that over the next two years, the broadcaster would have to save $670 million from its annual operating costs budget of around $6.7 billion. He signaled that the total number of employees at the BBC could fall by up to 2,000.
In an interview with the Financial Times last month, Matt Brittin said there would be hard choices ahead for the BBC as it worked towards a financially stable future.
The report added that the broadcaster has also put group-wide cost controls on recruitment and travel and reductions in expenditure on awards, events and conferences.
Brittin needs to balance the savings push in existing teams with investing in future services and attracting younger audiences, like developing the iPlayer streaming service.
Ministers are working on plans for a new version of the licence fee, and whether it can be extended to private streaming services.
Currently, people have to pay a licence fee to use BBC iPlayer or watch live TV on any channel. There is no such fee for viewing on-demand TV shows and movies on Netflix and other streaming platforms.
