Key facts
- BBC staff fear the closure of BBC Three and BBC Scotland channels next week.
- Director General Matt Brittin is expected to announce cost-saving plans on Wednesday.
- The BBC aims to save £500 million and shed up to 2,000 jobs.
- BBC Three's cost per user hour was 26p in 2023-24 and 18p in 2024-25.
- BBC Scotland's TV channel had a budget of £42 million in 2024-25, with a cost per user hour of 13p.
- BBC Three's budget was cut to £66 million in 2024-25 from £90 million.
Staff at the BBC are increasingly concerned about potential closures of BBC Three and BBC Scotland channels next week, as the corporation begins a redundancy process. Director General Matt Brittin is expected to announce further cost-saving measures on Wednesday, part of a plan to save £500 million and shed up to 2,000 jobs.
Dan McGolpin, director of the BBC iPlayer and Channels division, has initiated a call for expressions of interest in voluntary redundancy, job-sharing, reduced hours, or relocation across the UK to mitigate enforced redundancies. This has fueled speculation that BBC Three and BBC Scotland could move to an online-only format.
Insiders suggest that BBC Scotland and BBC Three are expensive on a cost-per-viewer basis and have not met expectations. BBC Three, which relaunched on linear TV in 2022, has struggled with declining audiences, leading to the cancellation of "RuPaul's Drag Race UK" due to financial pressures. Its highest-rated show recently drew an average of 74,000 viewers. The channel's cost per user hour was 18p in 2024-25, compared to 6p for BBC Four and 9p for BBC Two.
BBC Three's budget, which doubled to about £80 million upon its return to linear TV, was cut to £66 million for 2024-25. Similarly, the BBC Scotland television channel, launched in 2019, faces a similar fate. Only 12% of people in Scotland watch the channel live weekly, though 54% consume BBC Scotland content across various platforms. The channel's budget for 2024-25 is £42 million, with a cost per user hour of 13p.
Brittin has emphasized the need to assess the value and cost of services as audiences shift to on-demand viewing. The BBC announced plans in June to cut 60 jobs in Scotland, aiming to save £10 million. The BBC Scotland channel has received approximately £250 million in funding since its launch but has struggled to attract large audiences, with its flagship news program "The Nine" being scrapped after drawing as few as 1,700 viewers in some episodes.
While some believe shutting the TV channel entirely might be politically difficult, an online-only future is seen as a cost-effective and acceptable solution. Brittin has also indicated that radio services could be axed, with 350 to 400 hours of audio content set to be cut by the end of the next financial year. The BBC has already announced reductions in presenters on Radio 4's "Today" and axed "The World Tonight" evening news program.