The BBC will close its BBC Three and BBC Scotland television channels by spring 2027, shifting both services to online-only formats as part of a plan to save £500m over two years. The corporation confirmed that content from these channels will continue on BBC iPlayer but no longer fill a scheduled terrestrial TV slot.
BBC Three, known for launching shows like Fleabag, Normal People, and Gavin & Stacey, first moved online in 2016 before returning to TV in 2022. The channel targets younger audiences and will maintain its commissions through increased investment, with programming available on iPlayer and platforms such as YouTube.
BBC Scotland, which began broadcasting in 2019 with a mix of news, sport, documentaries, and entertainment, will remain a channel on iPlayer. Some of its content will also be broadcast on BBC One and BBC Two in Scotland. The channel currently airs programming only in the evenings and simulcasts BBC Radio Scotland during the day. Its nightly news programme, Reporting Scotland: News at Seven, will end when the linear channel closes. However, the BBC said its broader Scottish news coverage, including The Sunday Show, Radio Scotland Breakfast, Debate Night, and Scotcast, will continue.
Radio 4 Extra, which mainly airs archive speech programmes such as comedy, drama, and documentaries, will also close as a linear broadcast. Some of its programmes, including the religious series The Daily Service, will move to BBC Sounds and local radio. The BBC said much of Radio 4 Extra's archive content is already available on the Sounds platform.
BBC director-general Matt Brittin said the changes reflected financial pressures and the need to adapt. “We need to make every pound work harder for audiences as we respond to the immediate cost pressures and reinvent the BBC for a changing world. We all know that means tough choices,” he said. Brittin added that much of the content from the closing channels would still be available on iPlayer and Sounds. “While this follows media speculation, I recognise the confirmation of this news will be hard for audiences and colleagues.”
Staff affected by the closures were informed on Tuesday, although media outlets had reported the proposals in recent weeks. The BBC plans to cut between 1,800 and 2,000 jobs, close to one in 10 of its workforce, to reach the £500m savings target. Around 550 job cuts have already been announced in the news division, and BBC Sport has cut more than 30 roles. The new director of BBC News, Rachel Jupp, also announced a proposed further £5.5m in savings, which could lead to around 100 more job losses.
The announcement follows the BBC’s recent cancellation of several high-profile series, including RuPaul’s Drag Race UK, Blankety Blank, Celebrity Mastermind, Live at the Apollo, Football Focus, Ski Sunday, and Radio 4’s The World Tonight and You & Yours.
Sir Peter Bazalgette, former chairman of ITV and Endemol, described the package as “modest and pretty well-judged.” He said it “protects the spending on content, it really cuts money in the distribution of programmes, and it really had to happen because the BBC has lost 30% of its revenue in 10 years.”
The entertainment trade union Equity responded with concern. It said Tuesday’s announcement “does not signal a thriving BBC, and we are concerned about the UK’s preeminent public service broadcaster’s ability to meet its duties to the fullest.”
Some programmes on BBC Scotland and BBC Three, such as Two Doors Down and Sort Your Life Out, are repeats originally broadcast on other BBC channels. Both networks currently broadcast only in the evenings.
With the closures, the BBC is moving further away from traditional linear TV services for these outlets, betting on iPlayer and digital platforms to reach audiences amid financial constraints and changing viewing habits.
According to Joy Online.
