BBC to merge news channels, cutting 70 jobs
The new BBC News channel is scheduled to launch in April 2023
Source: pa/empics/Anthony Devlin
BBC News and BBC World News will be merged, saving around 70 jobs. The public broadcaster is due to save around £285m after Culture Minister Nadine Dorries announced plans to freeze the £159-a-year fee for the next two years.
DHe said the BBC was merging its news channels and cutting dozens of jobs in the UK as a result. About 70 workers will lose their jobs as a result of the merger of BBC News and BBC World News, the PA news agency said on Thursday, citing its own information.
The new channel BBC News, due to launch in April 2023, will broadcast from London during the day and Singapore and Washington at night in the UK. The PA said 20 new jobs would be created in the US capital. The BBC announcedIt will create a streamlined system that “gets maximum benefit from license fees and delivers more to viewers.”
The public broadcaster is set to save around £285m (€337m) after Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries announced a freeze of £159 a year for the next two years. The business model of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), which celebrates its 100th anniversary this year, is heavily dependent on fees.
In the past year and a half, 1,200 staff have left the BBC
It was previously announced that BBC Four, Radio 4 and the CBBC channels would no longer operate as linear channels. In the last year and a half, 1,200 employees have already left the station.
Digital director Naja Nielsen said: “Our goal is to create the world’s best live and breaking video news service – on our websites, our apps, iPlayer and our new TV news channel.” Media behavior is changing, millions of people watch live broadcasts on the Internet.
“That’s why we’re investing in new ways to report breaking news, and our news channel and digital teams will work hand-in-hand to bring better journalism to domestic and international audiences,” Nielsen said.
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