{"id":858109,"date":"2026-09-23T19:26:12","date_gmt":"2026-09-23T19:26:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/858109\/"},"modified":"2026-09-23T19:26:12","modified_gmt":"2026-09-23T19:26:12","slug":"bbc-expected-to-announce-tv-radio-network-closures-next-week","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/858109\/","title":{"rendered":"BBC Expected To Announce TV & Radio Network Closures Next Week"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tEXCLUSIVE: The BBC<\/a> is preparing to announce the closure of TV and radio services, with speculation rife that youth network BBC Three is at risk of being unplugged for a second time.<\/p>\n

\n\tDeadline hears that the BBC is expected to unveil what one source described as \u201caudience-facing\u201d closures early next week, as the UK broadcaster ramps up efforts to save \u00a3500 million ($660M) over the coming years.<\/p>\n

\n\tBBC sources said director general Matt Brittin<\/a> is attempting to juggle the cuts with futureproofing the corporation. Brittin has spent his early months in the job interrogating whether the broadcaster\u2019s output is properly meeting audience needs and is said to be clear-eyed about shifting resources away from services that are dwindling in influence.<\/p>\n

\n\tBBC insiders and industry sources, who were not at liberty to speak on the record, believe that BBC Three is vulnerable, while there has been press speculation about BBC Scotland\u2019s future. The corporation is also expected to announce changes to radio services. Nothing is confirmed at this stage.<\/p>\n

\n\tA BBC spokesperson declined to comment, but senior leaders have consistently said nothing is off the table. Brittin told staff in June<\/a> that the BBC will slash commissioning spend across its TV, radio, and news divisions by \u00a380M, necessitating a review of its \u201cbroadcast TV channels and radio network portfolio as audiences move online.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tInternal announcements are being made over the coming days, with the BBC telling Manchester-based staff on Wednesday about plans to axe sports bulletins on its news channel.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Matt<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tBBC boss Matt Brittin<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBBC<\/p>\n

\n\tIf BBC Three were closed, it would be the second time the TV network has been taken off air in a decade. It was originally moved online in 2016 before former director general Tim Davie reversed the decision and the channel was restored to television in 2022.<\/p>\n

\n\tAlthough BBC Three\u2019s move to iPlayer was ahead of its time (a fact that was acknowledged by the BBC at the time), Davie\u2019s U-turn bemused many \u2014 particularly as the network enjoyed a purple patch creatively online, launching series including beloved comedies Fleabag<\/a> and This Country<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n\tA source said Davie came close to acknowledging that this was a mistake in a March 2024 speech, when he said that the BBC would \u201cdeliver more value for younger audiences\u201d by focusing commissioning and marketing power on iPlayer rather than BBC Three\u2019s linear channel.<\/p>\n

\n\tBBC Three is home to shows including RuPaul\u2019s Drag Race UK, which was recently canceled by the BBC<\/a>, and comedies including Things You Should Have Done and Smoggie Queens.<\/p>\n

\n\tOne person pointed out that switching off BBC Three would not actually save a great deal of money because it occupies the same TV real estate (known as spectrum) as children\u2019s channel CBBC. It would be more radical for the BBC to consolidate its children\u2019s channels, CBBC and CBeebies, into a single network, but insiders think that this would prompt political backlash.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe BBC\u2019s \u00a3500M target expands on a previous savings goal worth \u00a31.5 billion. The bigger picture behind the cuts is that 94% of the UK population use the BBC every month, but fewer than 80% pay the \u00a3180 annual licence fee. The BBC is attempting to bridge this gap.<\/p>\n

\n\tUp to 2,000 jobs are at risk under the savings strategy, while the BBC is also involved in tense negotiations with unions over employee pay rises<\/a>. Unions have rejected two BBC offers, meaning the risk of industrial action is increasing.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe drumbeat of BBC cuts is playing at the same time as executives are locked in talks with the government over renewing the corporation\u2019s operating agreement, known as its charter. Weekly meetings are now taking place between government officials and BBC policy staff as they thrash out the broadcaster\u2019s future funding arrangements.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"EXCLUSIVE: The BBC is preparing to announce the closure of TV and radio services, with speculation rife that…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":858110,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[54],"tags":[8827,88,167335,243753,362334,362335,92],"class_list":["post-858109","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-bbc","tag-entertainment","tag-fleabag","tag-matt-brittin","tag-rupauls-drag-race-uk","tag-this-country","tag-tv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/858109","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=858109"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/858109\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/858110"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=858109"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=858109"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=858109"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}