BBC Confirms Closure of Three Linear Services in Spring 2027: BBC Three, BBC Scotland and Radio 4 Extra Move Online as Corporation Targets £500 Million Savings by 2028
London — The BBC has confirmed the closure of BBC Three, BBC Scotland and BBC Radio 4 Extra linear broadcast services in Spring 2027, Advanced Television reported.
The BBC says it needs to make tough decisions due to the sustained financial pressures facing the organisation and must make savings of £500 million by 2028. The changes were announced to staff during the morning of October 20th. BBC Scotland, which launched in 2019, will remain a channel on iPlayer, and content will also be available on BBC One and BBC Two in Scotland. BBC Three commissions, supported by increased investment in content for younger audiences, will be available on BBC iPlayer and on other platforms, including YouTube. BBC Three, aimed at younger audiences, was moved online in 2016 before returning to linear television in 2022, and has carried hits including "Fleabag," "Killing Eve" and "Normal People." Programmes from Radio 4 Extra will be on BBC Sounds — and The Daily Service will be on BBC Sounds and local radio.
In a note to staff setting out the changes, BBC Director-General Matt Brittin said: "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 added on the closure of linear broadcast services: "Much of the great content they currently carry will still be found where audiences already enjoy it on iPlayer and Sounds. While this follows media speculation, I recognise the confirmation of this news will be hard for audiences and colleagues."
Further changes have also been announced in BBC News. About 100 jobs will be cut at BBC News, and the channel closures will bring further job losses, including 10 in Scotland, with total job losses across the corporation expected to reach 1,800 to 2,000. New Director of BBC News, Rachel Jupp will be laying out plans for additional savings early in 2027 as part of the longer-term vision for BBC News. Other divisions will confirm savings plans as soon as possible in the coming months. This follows earlier savings announced in BBC Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Local, News and Speech and Sounds.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 位于伦敦的英国广播公司（BBC）广播大厦（Broadcasting House）资料图。照片：Paul Gillett 摄，CC BY-SA 2.0，经 geograph／维基共享资源。 / File photo: BBC Broadcasting House in London. Photo by Paul Gillett, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Geograph / Wikimedia Commons.
