London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Sep 18, 2025

BBC to move CBBC and BBC Four online

BBC to move CBBC and BBC Four online

The BBC has announced that it plans to stop airing CBBC and BBC Four as traditional broadcast channels.

Director-general Tim Davie announced the content of these networks will continue to be produced and made available for online platforms.

This means they would only be available on BBC iPlayer, with Radio 4 Extra moving to BBC Sounds, rather than via their traditional broadcast outlets.

He added that the corporation's two news channels will be merged into one.

Tim Davie said: "We are moving decisively to a largely on-demand world"


The corporation currently has two different news networks for UK and World audiences, and the changes are part of cost-saving measures, which the BBC said are part of a plan to create a "modern, digital-led and streamlined organisation".

The changes announced on Thursday would mean cuts of £200m a year and the reorganisation of services which prioritise digital platforms. But CBBC, BBC Four will stay on linear TV and Radio 4 Extra will stay on the radio airwaves for at least three years.

Mr Davie also announced changes to local radio and regional news, which will see TV news programmes in Oxford and Cambridge merged with the BBC's Southampton and Norwich operations.

BBC One regional programme We Are England will also end after its second series later this year.

In January, the latest licence fee settlement was announced which will keep it at £159 a year for two years and then rise in line with inflation.

Overall, the plans could mean up to 1,000 job losses in the publicly-funded part of the corporation over the next few years.

Mr Davie said the BBC would consult with trade unions on the proposals.


'Constantly innovating'


In a statement, he said the BBC must "evolve faster and embrace the huge shifts in the market around us".

"This is our moment to build a digital-first BBC," he said. "Something genuinely new, a Reithian organisation for the digital age, a positive force for the UK and the world.

"Independent, impartial, constantly innovating and serving all. A fresh, new, global digital media organisation which has never been seen before."

The director-general told staff that too many BBC resources are currently focused on broadcast output rather than online, adding: "We are moving decisively to a largely on-demand world."

The newly merged news channel will mean a single, 24-hour broadcast, simply called BBC News, serving UK and international audiences and offering greater amounts of shared content.


The changes include:


*  Plans to stop scheduling separate content for Radio 4 Long Wave

*  Additional online news services for Sunderland, Bradford, Wolverhampton and Peterborough, creating 100 new job posts

*  Alternative funding for some performance groups such as the BBC's orchestras

*  The end of bespoke television operations in Oxford and Cambridge, which will merge with the wider regional 18:30 news programmes

*  Requesting Ofcom to remove regulatory restrictions on iPlayer to expand boxsets and archive content - with an ambition to reach 75% of BBC viewers through iPlayer each week

*  Shifting a number of World Service languages to being digital only

*  Reviewing commercial options for audio production, which could mean some podcasts are produced by the corporation's commercial arm, BBC Studios


This announcement amounts to an ambitious, even radical, acceleration of the BBC's pivot to digital services. It is an attempt to ward off two threats: the first, financial; the second, technological.

Financially, the two-year freeze in the licence fee - amid a cost-of-living crisis - forces the BBC to find further savings.

Technologically, future licence fee payers are primarily digital creatures. Yet the BBC is still mostly consumed through TVs and radios, and spends most of its money on services that reach people through those traditional means.

There will be a big impact on what shows people watch and listen to. Some of that is positive: new dramas, TV formats and podcasts that are widely enjoyed.

But some is negative: shows treasured by people who have paid their licence fee for years will go.

Which shows remains unclear, though the recent licence fee freeze does give the BBC some cover for those hard choices.

Earlier on Thursday, Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries issued the BBC with a legal direction ordering it to "promote equality of opportunity" for people from working-class backgrounds.

The stipulation came as part of the mid-term review into the corporation's royal charter and includes a target for 25% of staff to be from low socio-economic backgrounds. The BBC said this direction affirms targets the corporation has already set itself.

The BBC has also been asked to ensure 50% of radio and 60% of TV production spend is outside London by the end of 2027.

Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries has said the BBC's funding model is "completely outdated"


The corporation must also deliver 1,000 apprenticeships per year by 2025 and ensure that 30% of those are from low socio-economic groups.

In a statement, the BBC's chairman, Richard Sharp, said: "The mid-term review is built into our Charter. We welcome it and we will engage fully and constructively. We look forward to working with government and Ofcom."

Ms Dorries has previously said she wants to find a new funding model for the BBC before the current licence fee deal expires in 2027, as she says it is "completely outdated".

Prime Minister Boris Johnson's official spokesman said on Thursday: "The prime minister is firmly of the view that the BBC is a world-class broadcaster, but like other broadcasters one that needs to adapt to a rapidly changing landscape."

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
US Tech Giants Pledge Billions to UK AI Infrastructure Following Starmer's Call
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
DeepMind and OpenAI Achieve Gold at ‘Coding Olympics’ in AI Milestone
SEC Allows Public Companies to Block Investors from Class-Action Lawsuits
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Federal Reserve Cuts Rates by Quarter Point and Signals More to Come
Effective and Impressive Generation Z Protest: Images from the Riots in Nepal
European manufacturers against ban on polluting cars: "The industry may collapse"
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Trump: Cancel quarterly company reports and settle for reporting once every six months
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
US Launches New Pilot Program to Accelerate eVTOL Air Taxi Deployment
Christian Brueckner Released from German Prison after Serving Unrelated Sentence
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Hong Kong Industry Group Calls for HK$20 Billion Support Fund to Ease Property Market Stress
Joe Biden’s Post-Presidency Speaking Fees Face Weak Demand amid Corporate Reluctance
Charlie Kirk's murder will break the left's hateful cancel tactics
Kash Patel erupts at ‘buffoon’ Sen. Adam Schiff over Russiagate: ‘You are the biggest fraud’
Homeland Security says Emmy speech ‘fanning the flames of hatred’ after Einbinder’s ‘F— ICE’ remark
Charlie Kirk’s Alleged Assassin Tyler Robinson Faces Death Penalty as Charges Formally Announced
Actor, director, environmentalist Robert Redford dies at 89
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
JD Vance Says There Is “No Unity” with Those Who Celebrate Charlie Kirk’s Killing, and he is right!
Trump sues the 'New York Times' for an astronomical sum of 15 billion dollars
Florida Hospital Welcomes Its Largest-Ever Baby: Annan, Nearly Fourteen Pounds at Birth
U.S. and Britain Poised to Finalize Over $10 Billion in High-Tech, Nuclear and Defense Deals During Trump State Visit
China Finds Nvidia Violated Antitrust Laws in Mellanox Deal, Deepens Trade Tensions with US
US Air Force Begins Modifications on Qatar-Donated Jet Amid Plans to Use It as Air Force One
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
Elon Musk Retakes Lead as World’s Richest After Brief Ellison Surge
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
London Daily Podcast: London Massive Pro Democracy Rally, Musk Support, UK Economic Data and Premier League Results Mark Eventful Weekend
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Musk calls for new UK government at huge pro-democracy rally in London, but Britons have been brainwashed to obey instead of fighting for their human rights
Elon Musk responds to post calling for the murder of Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk: 'Either we fight back or they will kill us'
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
USA: Office Depot Employees Refused to Print Poster in Memory of Charlie Kirk – and Were Fired
Proposed U.S. Bill Would Allow Civil Suits Against Judges Who Release Repeat Violent Offenders
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
French Debt Downgrade Piles Pressure on Macron’s New Prime Minister
US and UK Near Tech, Nuclear and Whisky Deals Ahead of Trump Trip
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
Anesthesiologist Left Operation Mid-Surgery to Have Sex with Nurse
Tens of Thousands of Young Chinese Get Up Every Morning and Go to Work Where They Do Nothing
×