BBC to cut 1,000 hours of new TV in major money-saving drive
BBC Newsreader Joanna Gosling signs off for the final time
The BBC will be broadcasting 1,000 fewer hours of new TV shows this year as part of a cost-cutting drive. Sport will take the biggest hit with half of the hours being dropped for major events in 2023. The corporation’s latest annual plan revealed the findings.
Last year the broadcaster made about 12,500 “originated hours” of content.
However, the current freeze of the price of a TV licence “continues to place significant financial challenges on the BBC at a time of high inflation and media super-inflation”, it said.
The cutting of 1,000 hours in content commissions is just one of the initiatives in place to save money.
The reduction in sporting content is mostly due to the fact there will be no Commonwealth Games or men’s football World Cup this year.
No details have been revealed on whether the women’s World Cup will be covered by the BBC this summer.
The remaining 500 hours will come from other areas including BBC Four, known for its arts and music content.
The corporation said news content would not be impacted by the changes.
It did, however, wish to focus on “more unique, high-impact content” originating in the UK.
Other ways the BBC hopes to save money include moving a number of World Service TV and radio broadcast services online.
The move comes after the exodus row as plans to merge the domestic and global news channels continue.
The BBC said goodbye to the likes of David Eades, Joanna Gosling, and Tim Willcox after they took voluntary redundancy.
They decided against taking part in the recruitment process for a new team of six lead presenters on the proposed new channel.
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Those who landed presenting roles were expecting a significant salary increase, earning up to £230,000 ($278,000) a year.
The BBC is planning to launch the merged channel in April as part of plans to cater for an increasingly digital audience.
The changes will come into force as early as next week, from April 3, with a number of seasoned anchors dropping off air.
Five journalists will take up chief presenter roles including Matthew Amroliwala, Yalda Hakim, Christian Fraser, Lucy Hockings, and Maryam Moshiri.
The reshuffle comes as Ofcom aired concerns about the merger.
Kevin Bakhurst, Ofcom’s Group Director, wrote to the BBC recently to say it had not properly explained the changes.
Deadline shared the statement which read: “The absence of important information has resulted in a lot of uncertainty for audiences who are not clear about what the changes will mean in practice for the services they use.”
The annual plan said the broadcaster’s priority would be impartiality, with a bid to “launch an independent review of our social media guidance”.
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