BBC confirms BBC Three, BBC Scotland and Radio 4 Extra closures and 100 news job cuts

The BBC has confirmed that it will close BBC Three, the BBC Scotland TV channel and Radio 4 Extra as linear broadcast services as part of a drive to save £500 million by 2028. The BBC Scotland channel and BBC Three will come off traditional television in spring 2027, with BBC Three expected to leave linear schedules in February 2027. Radio 4 Extra will also lose its linear broadcast service. The BBC says the programmes will not disappear. Content will remain available on iPlayer, BBC Sounds and YouTube, and more will be commissioned for YouTube and other online platforms.

In addition, BBC News will cut around 100 jobs. The corporation said the news cuts would save £5.5 million. The closures and job losses are part of a wider programme that will see about 2,000 jobs go across the BBC, around one in 10. BBC News has to lose £51 million and has so far saved around £25 million to £30 million. About 10 jobs will go in Scotland as part of the broadcasting cuts.

The channel closures are relatively small in cash terms. They are expected to save less than £10 million a year, a tiny fraction of the £500 million target. So far the BBC has announced around £200 million of savings. It needs to find another £300 million. The BBC says it is responding to immediate cost pressures and a changing media world. In an email to staff, the director general said the corporation needed to make every pound work harder for audiences and reinvent the BBC for a changing world.

BBC Three has had a stop-start history. It launched in 2003 to reach younger viewers, moved online in 2016, returned as a TV channel in 2022 and will become an online service again. It has been responsible for shows including Fleabag, Gavin and Stacey and Killing Eve. BBC Scotland launched as a separate linear channel in 2019, replacing BBC Two Scotland. It has struggled to find an audience. Only 12% of Scots tuned in to the traditional channel last year, and its former flagship news programme The Nine was reported at one point to have had 1,700 viewers.

The SNP criticised the BBC Scotland decision. Its culture secretary called the proposal wholly unacceptable and said it raised serious questions about the BBC's commitment to Scottish audiences. The SNP said BBC chiefs in London must rethink an appalling decision. The BBC says Scottish-facing programmes will remain on iPlayer, BBC One Scotland and BBC Two Scotland.

BBC News has also begun a further round of cuts. The new director of news, Rachel Jupp, has told staff that those losing their jobs have already been informed. The BBC said no more news announcements are expected before next year, when Jupp sets out her plans. The deputy director-general, Rhodri Talfan Davies, said the priority was authoritative storytelling, major investigations and modernising news services for digital and social media. He also said BBC News would look at closer collaboration between local, regional and national teams.

The financial pressure behind the cuts is the licence fee. The BBC says 94% of the UK population uses it each month, but fewer than 80% pay the £180 annual licence fee. The corporation says it has lost 30% of its revenue in a decade. It is negotiating its next royal charter and argues that the current funding model is unsustainable. Rhodri Talfan Davies said the licence fee is out of time and called for funding reform. He said the World Service should be funded directly by government and confirmed talks about extending the licence fee to streaming services. He also called Radio 4 a gem that needed to be handled with care.

Critics say the cuts may make business sense as audiences move on demand, but warn that the BBC risks leaving some audiences behind. The BBC says it is following audiences to iPlayer, BBC Sounds and YouTube. With another £300 million of savings still to find, further cuts are expected.