BBC’s Matt Brittin announces further $107m cuts to commissioning and top jobs

Matt Brittin, the new director-general of the BBC, has wasted no time in making his presence felt at the UK public broadcaster, announcing a further £80m (US$107m) in commissioning reductions and a swathe of job cuts.

Matt Brittin

Photo: Matt Brittin

Former Google executive and McKinsey consultant Brittin was announced as Tim Davie’s replacement at the BBC in March and began work in May. The BBC’s future is “at threat like never before,” according to its own annual report in March, and cuts to 2,000 roles across the corporation (roughly one in 10 of its workforce) had already been announced.

But Brittin today went further in an email to staff saying: “The scale of savings requires tough choices, careful work and won’t all be ready at once. We are committed to letting you know as soon as we have plans in your area. All divisions will be making significant savings. Today, some divisions are ready to set out the first phase of these plans, with more to follow.”

He said that across the News, Nations and Content divisions, savings of £160m will be delivered by the end of the financial year, including staff and non-staff costs, and a net reduction of 550 roles as part of the previously announced 2,000 jobs to go over the next three years.

More savings will be set out in the months ahead across all divisions, Brittin said, with a further 700 roles to go in the BBC’s corporate divisions.

“Reductions of this scale inevitably mean some compulsory redundancies, though we will work hard to avoid this wherever we can. Many divisions have already opened voluntary redundancy windows; more will be opening today,” he added.

The broadcaster also plans to “close some programmes” with commissioning spend across Content, News and Nations reduced by a further £80m in 2027/28 and a review of its portfolio of linear channels and radio networks promised “as audiences move online.”

The BBC operates eight national linear TV channels – BBC One, BBC Two, youth focused BBC Three, BBC Four, BBC News, BBC Parliament and kids networks CBBC and CBeebies – as well as Scottish Gaelic channel BBC ALBA. It has 10 nationally available radio networks as well as a host of local channels.

In an effort to “meet the audience where they are and reduce spending elsewhere,” Brittin said he plans to make the BBC simpler and faster with cuts to one in 10 of its senior leadership. “We must reduce duplication, clarify accountability and increase the speed of decision making. This includes reducing senior leaders by at least 10%,” he said.

More detailed plans will be set out in calls and updates to staff over the coming days and an all-hands meeting will be held by Brittin alongside chief content officer Kate Phillips, nations director Rhuanedd Richards and BBC news director Jonathan Munro on June 23.

“We live in very uncertain times. Our audiences rely on us every day to keep them informed, entertained and equipped to make sense of the world. Making savings while fulfilling our mission means a doubly difficult time for everyone,” Brittin concluded.