London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Jul 24, 2025

BBC to move key jobs and programmes out of London

BBC to move key jobs and programmes out of London

The BBC is to move some of its key departments and staff outside London to make the corporation more reflective of the UK as a whole.

It said its plans represent a "top-to-bottom change" and its biggest transformation in decades.

Entire departments and news divisions will be moved to Birmingham, Cardiff, Leeds, Glasgow and Salford.

The BBC's 22,000 employees, many of whom are currently working from home, were briefed on the plans on Thursday.

The plans include:

* A new version of BBC One tailored for audiences in Yorkshire, the North West and the North East of England.

* Two new soap-style network drama series - one from the North of England and another from one of the Nations - produced over the next three years.

The BBC has a commitment to commission and produce "a clear majority" of TV programmes across the UK and not in London

"Our mission must be to deliver for the whole of the UK and ensure every household gets value from the BBC," said director general Tim Davie.

"These plans will get us closer to audiences, create jobs and investment, and develop and nurture new talent."

Other changes to the corporation will include:

*  News and current affairs programmes like BBC Two's Newsnight being presented from different UK bases through the year.

*  Radio 4's flagship Today programme to be co-presented from outside London for at least 100 episodes a year.

*  Key daytime strands on Radio 1, 1Xtra and Radio 2 will be moved from London and made across the UK.

*  Radio 3 will be rooted in Salford, along with the majority of 6 Music.

*  Radio 1's Newsbeat team will relocate to Birmingham, which will also be the base for the Asian Network.

*  BBC News's Climate and Science team will move to Cardiff, while the Technology team will shift to Glasgow. The Learning and Identity News team will go to Leeds.

*  A new generation of 100 new reporters to be based in towns and areas that have never had a regional TV presence.

*  The BBC Concert Orchestra and some Proms to leave London, plus a music events calendar more rooted across the UK.

Mr Davie said the BBC had been "an essential part of the UK's culture, democracy and creativity for almost a century" and had faced some of its "toughest moments" over the last year.

"Now, as we look to the future, we must play our part in supporting social and economic recovery; rebuilding the creative sector and telling the stories that need to be heard from all corners of the UK."

The BBC newsroom is based in New Broadcasting House, London
Plans set out in detail in the BBC's 13-page Across the UK document include:

*  A commitment to commission and produce "a clear majority" of TV programmes across the UK and not in London.

*  A commitment to locate 50% of the money spent on network radio and music outside London by 2028.

*  The moving of major parts of BBC News to locations across the UK.

*  More investment in BBC local reporting and apprenticeships.

*  An upgrade of the BBC's Belfast headquarters.

In an address to staff on Thursday morning, Mr Davie said the plans would make the BBC "a genuinely UK-wide organisation" and "a post-Covid success story admired worldwide".

"People must feel we are closer to them," he said. "This shift will create a much more distributed model that moves not just people, but power and decision-making to the UK's Nations and regions.

"Taken together, our proposals mean the BBC will cumulatively spend at least an extra £700m outside London by 2027/28."

'Bang for their buck'


Broadcasting trade union Bectu said it was "good to see the BBC wanting to build on its strong local offering and prioritise getting closer to communities".

But its "immediate concern" was how the plans would affect is members, adding "the devil will be in the detail".

It said it would examine the proposals closely to ensure "workers are properly supported through these changes and that the need for redundancies is minimised".

MP Julian Knight, chairman of the DCMS committee, said it welcomed the BBC's decision to "rebalance" and "give licence fee payers greater bang for their buck".

He expressed caution over the financial implications, however, saying he hoped the BBC would not repeat "some of the costly mistakes made by the BBC in its previous move to Salford".

'Radical shift'


When Mr Davie was named the BBC's new director general last June, he said the BBC's mission had "never been more relevant, important or necessary".

"Looking forward, we will need to accelerate change so that we serve all our audiences in this fast-moving world," he said.

When he took over the job later in the year, he said there had to be "a radical shift" in the BBC's focus to ensure everyone got value from the licence fee.

"If current trends continue, we will not feel indispensable enough to all our audience," he said. "We must evolve to protect what we cherish."

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
TSUNAMI: Trump Just Crossed the Rubicon—And There’s No Turning Back
Over 120 Criminal Cases Dismissed in Boston Amid Public Defender Shortage
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
×