BBC confirms channel closures in 2027 and 100 news job cuts
The BBC will close BBC Three, BBC Scotland and Radio 4 Extra as linear services in spring 2027 and cut 100 news jobs as it seeks £500 million of savings by 2028.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
The BBC has confirmed that it will close BBC Three, BBC Scotland and Radio 4 Extra as linear broadcast services from spring 2027 and cut another 100 jobs at BBC News. The corporation says the changes are part of its effort to save £500 million by 2028.
BBC Three will leave traditional television in February 2027, after a previous move online in 2016 and a return to linear TV in 2022. Its programmes will remain available on iPlayer, and some will be commissioned for YouTube. BBC Scotland's separate channel, launched in 2019, will also come off broadcast. Scottish-facing programmes will stay on iPlayer, BBC One Scotland and BBC Two Scotland. BBC Radio 4 Extra will close as a linear radio service.
The BBC Scotland channel has struggled for viewers. Its former flagship news programme The Nine once drew only 1,700 viewers, and only 12% of Scots tuned in to the traditional channel last year. The SNP's culture secretary called the proposal wholly unacceptable and said it raised serious questions about the BBC's commitment to Scottish audiences. The SNP also said BBC chiefs in London must rethink an appalling decision.
At BBC News, 100 jobs will go, saving £5.5 million. The BBC is cutting nearly 2,000 jobs overall, about one in ten. So far it has announced £200 million of the £500 million target, leaving another £300 million to find. The channel closures themselves save less than £10 million a year. BBC News has to lose £51 million and has so far saved around £25 million to £30 million, according to one correspondent.
The BBC says it is going where audiences are, with content on iPlayer, BBC Sounds and YouTube. The director general told staff in an email that the BBC needs to make every pound work harder for audiences as it responds to immediate cost pressures and reinvents the BBC for a changing world. The new director of BBC News told staff that those losing their jobs had already been told, but more cuts are expected. Some savings decisions are being announced piece by piece because the BBC buys many programmes from independent producers and must work through contracts.
The pressure comes from the licence fee. About 94% of the UK population uses the BBC each month, but fewer than 80% pay the £180 annual licence fee. Revenue is falling as viewers move to digital platforms and production costs rise. One TV executive said the savings have to happen because the BBC has lost 30% of its revenue in a decade, and charter renewal is unlikely to bring much more money. The BBC is also negotiating its future with the government, where a message of efficiency may help. Critics warn that in balancing the books the corporation risks leaving some audiences behind.
On screen
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Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, grouped by how many channels reported each one. Select a dot to see the source excerpt.
| Claim |  |  |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Widely reported · 4 or more of 5 channels | |||||
| As part of cost cutting, the BBC will end linear broadcasts of BBC Three, BBC Scotland and Radio 4 Extra in spring. | Not reported by Channel 5 | ||||
| The BBC is to cut around 100 jobs at BBC News as it seeks £500 million in savings by 2028. | Not reported by Channel 5 | ||||
| Reported by a few · 2–3 channels | |||||
| The BBC is cutting 2,000 jobs overall and remains less than halfway through its savings programme. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Reported by BBC One | Not reported by ITV | Not reported by Sky News | |
| Only on one channel | |||||
| About 10 jobs will go in Scotland as part of the BBC broadcast changes. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC News | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by ITV | |
| Around 12% of Scottish viewers watched the traditional channel last year. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC News | Not reported by ITV | Not reported by Sky News | |
| The BBC Scotland channel launched in 2019 as a replacement for BBC Two Scotland. | Not reported by BBC News | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by ITV | Not reported by Sky News | |
| The director general told staff in an email that the BBC needed to use its money more efficiently and that much content would be available on iPlayer and Sounds. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC News | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by ITV | |
| The Nine programme had as few as 1,700 viewers at one point. | Not reported by BBC News | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by ITV | Not reported by Sky News | |
| The SNP urged BBC executives in London to reconsider the decision. | Not reported by BBC News | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by ITV | Not reported by Sky News | |
| Under 80% of people pay the £180 annual licence fee even though 94% of the UK population use the BBC each month. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC News | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by Sky News | |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
The channel used a studio interview with its correspondent to put the closures in the context of a much larger £500 million savings programme. It stressed the timing, the on-off history of BBC Three and the fact that the 100 news job losses are not the end of the BBC's cuts. It also explained why the BBC is announcing savings in stages because of contracts with independent producers.
- “Today is a relatively small amount of money because it's £500 million altogether”
- “So 2,000 jobs are going altogether in the BBC. We are not even halfway there yet.”
- “So the 100 today is not the end of it.”
Sky News gave a brisk, detail-led summary of the savings target and the shift from linear TV to online platforms. It highlighted the 100 BBC News job cuts and 10 jobs in Scotland, read out the director general's staff email and noted that the new BBC News director had warned of more cuts to come. The tone was factual and focused on the immediate staffing and platform changes.
- “these are all parts of effort to save half a billion pounds”
- “there are still more cuts to be made in the pipeline still more savings being looked at”
- “we need to make every pound work harder for audiences”
5 News took a Scotland-first angle, with a live reporter in Inverness assessing the likely impact of BBC Scotland's closure. It stressed the channel's weak audience figures and the SNP's angry response, then gave a potted history of BBC Three's previous move online. It also warned that only £200 million of the £500 million savings target has so far been announced.
- “This channel has really struggled to make its mark over the last few years.”
- “The director-general, Matt Britton, has said they need to respond to immediate cost pressures and reinvent the BBC in a changing world”
- “BBC chiefs in London must rethink this appalling decision”
The BBC's own bulletin led with a packaged media editor report that set out the closures, the audience data and the political reaction. It stressed that the BBC Scotland channel will remain on iPlayer and that only 12% of Scots watched the traditional channel last year. It also underlined how little the closures save compared with the £500 million target and framed the move as part of the BBC's negotiations with the government.
- “BBC Three, as a TV channel, is being axed.”
- “Only 12% of Scots tuned in to the traditional channel last year.”
- “it saves less than £10 million a year, a tiny fraction of what's needed.”
ITV framed the cuts around the licence fee and the BBC's falling revenue, explaining that fewer than 80% of the UK population pays the £180 annual fee even though 94% uses the BBC each month. Its entertainment reporter focused on BBC Three's hit shows and the channel's repeated moves between linear TV and online. It also gave the specific saving from the 100 BBC News job cuts.
- “the BBC needs to make 500 million pounds worth of cuts by 2028”
- “94% of the UK population uses the BBC each month but fewer than 80% pay the £180 annual licence fee.”
- “Today BBC News announced an additional 100 jobs are going to be cut, saving £5.5 million.”
This later bulletin repeated the same packaged report on the closures and job cuts, with the same emphasis on BBC Scotland's low reach, the SNP reaction and the gap between the savings announced and the £500 million target. It added no new angle on the BBC story before moving on to other news.
- “The BBC has announced that it's closing BBC Three and the BBC Scotland television channel in the spring”
- “BBC News is also cutting a further 100 jobs.”
- “Only 12% of Scots tuned in to the traditional channel last year.”
Who was on air
People and organisations each channel put on air while covering this story. Channels' own presenters and reporters are not listed. Names as transcribed, and the list can miss people.
- 18:15 BST
- 22:24 BST
- 16:28 BST
matt britain, director general
Sky News Today with Jayne Secker · Tue 20 Oct
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.