Wednesday, March 03, 2010

BBC confirms plan for website cuts and station closures

The BBC confirmed today its plan to slash spending on its online services and close two radio stations in a shake-up designed to boost programme funding, as we reported last week. Digital radio stations BBC Asian Network and BBC 6 Music will close from next year as part of a review of the British Broadcasting Corporation’s budget and services, said Director General Mark Thompson.

Spending on its online services - which commercial competitors complain stifle competition - will be cut by 25 percent by 2013, he said in a widely-anticipated announcement. The shake-up will free an extra 600 million pounds (890 million dollars, 660 million euros) to be spent on programme-making, he told staff at the BBC’s headquarters in London.

Mr Thompson said that Asian Network, targeted at Britain’s South Asian communities, and alternative music station 6 Music will close in 2011 at the earliest. The plans will now be considered by the BBC Trust, a body which oversees the broadcaster’s activities, and be put out for public consultation.
(Source: AFP/R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)