BBC Weather to become more digital and local

The plans will include opening a new BBC weather centre at the Met Office’s headquarters in Exeter, as part of a new partnership between the two organisations. 

Under the BBC’s plans, local presenters will play a key role in future TV weather broadcasts at lunchtimes and weekends, giving a nationwide weather picture as well as a detailed local forecast. 

The Today programme, BBC Breakfast, and the weekday editions of the News at Six will continue to feature separate national forecasts from network weather presenters, as will the News at Ten for a trial period. 

The BBC will also boost coverage of significant weather events across all its digital platforms, including articles, video, and social media updates. 

Under the changes, routine radio forecasts will be read by presenters and announcers. On the news channel, half-hourly weather forecasts will continue, with automated forecast graphics rather than presenters.  

The proposed changes, to be implemented this year, will involve three post closures and will contribute to the BBC’s £500m savings target. 

The changes will also focus weather operations in Salford and Exeter, meaning that two dedicated weather studios at London Broadcasting House are set to close. 

The move comes at a time of increased audience interest in the UK’s weather. During the heatwave in late June, BBC Weather said it saw record-breaking numbers of users digitally access weather content. More than 23 million UK unique visitors came to BBC Weather’s online coverage and forecasting over a seven-day period, an all-time high. 

Across the same period on the BBC News website, four of the five top stories for UK audiences were weather-related. There were more than 60 million views of weather coverage on the BBC Weather and BBC News social media accounts. 

The BBC recently cancelled long-running entertainment series Blankety Blank, Celebrity Mastermind, and Live at the Apollo in a bid to make further financial savings. Discover more here.