BBC Unveils Plan For Extensive Job, Expense Cuts

Cuts

The BBC will cut 2,000 jobs by 2017 as part of expense reductions accompanying the license fee freeze aimed at saving almost 700 million pounds per year.  800 of the cuts will come from BBC NEWS, which will merge operations with the BBC WORLD SERVICE and cut back on live coverage of political party conferences. 

Radio will also see substantial cuts, with news reports shared among the networks, a cutback of non-news and sports talk programming at BBC RADIO 5 LIVE, and less live music on Classical BBC RADIO 3, and networking programming across local BBC stations, which will concentrate on local shows for drive times.  The annual Proms concerts on RADIO 3 will, however, see a budget increase. RADIO 4 will not see cuts in its overall budget, but programming like drama on RADIO 3 and RADIO 4 and comedy on AC BBC RADIO 2 and RADIO 5 LIVE will be cut back.

Among other cuts, all new daytime TV shows will move to BBC 1 (the budget of which will be cut by 3%) and BBC2 will instead show reruns and news during the day; BBC 3 will move north from LONDON to SALFORD by 2016, and the BBC HD channel will be replaced by BBC 2 in HD.  Sports rights expenses will be reduced 15% by moves such as sharing FORMULA ONE racing rights with BSKYB; Children's shows will move from BBC 1 and 2 to CBBC and CBEEBIES.

The cuts, in a proposal called "Delivering Quality First" delivered to staff by Director General MARK THOMPSON THURSDAY morning, drew a sharp response from unions, with BECTU's GERRY MORRISSEY suggesting that the proposal should be called "Destroying Quality First" and the NATIONAL UNION OF JOURNALISTS saying that the cuts "risk irreparable damage" to the BBC.

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