The BBC World Service is to cut 130 jobs as part of a plan to save around £6m in the next financial year.
Cost-saving measures will include closing posts in the UK and internationally as well as roles in BBC Monitoring, the division which reports and analyses news from media around the world. The BBC will also make ‘commissioning mix’ changes on World Service English, and reshape some World Service Language teams to enhance the focus on digital output.
The World Service was given a funding boost by the government as part of the autumn budget. But it said that “previous freezes on the licence fee, global inflation, and the need for ongoing digital and technological upkeep have meant savings are necessary.”
The World Service said it was operating in a competitive global media environment with international news providers investing billions in state-backed media, leading to increased competition for staff, platforms, frequencies, and audiences.
Despite the cuts, it said it will continue to provide journalistic coverage across its 42 language services.
Jonathan Munro, Global Director and Deputy CEO, BBC News, said: “While the result of the latest grant-in-aid funding settlement means we are able to maintain all of our existing language services, we were clear it would not stave off difficult decisions in order to remain globally competitive and meet our savings requirements. These changes will ensure we operate effectively with the resources we have, creating the most impact for audiences internationally.”
You are not signed in
Only registered users can comment on this article.
.jpg)
IBC launches study to map the media technology talent pipeline
IBC has launched How Did You Get Here?, a study designed to better understand how people enter and build careers in media technology.
Netflix kicks of landmark distribution deal with France’s TF1
Leading French broadcaster TF1’s live channels and streamer TF1+ are now available on Netflix’s platform in France following a landmark distribution deal between the two companies.
UK government sets out plans to give prominence for PSB news on social media
The UK government has set out plans to make social media platforms such as YouTube and Facebook give greater prominence to news from public service media.
Warner Bros. Discovery teams with AWS for agentic AI ad-tech
Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) has partnered with cloud provider Amazon Web Services (AWS) to develop its next-generation advertising experiences built with AWS agentic AI.
Active International picks Comcast Technology Solutions
Comcast Technology Solutions (CTS) has announced that Active International, the global media and corporate trade group, is using Comcast AdFusion to modernise and scale its broadcast ad traffic and creative distribution operations.
