The BBC has confirmed its long-awaited plans to make further changes to its news output, as it seeks to save a further £500 million.
- Newsnight will continue as a shortened discussion-based programme
- The BBC News at 1 will move to Salford and extend to one hour.
- BBC Breakfast to be extended by 15 minutes
The BBC has confirmed its Salford base will gain in importance, as more of its news output will move to the North West during the next year.
BBC Breakfast will run for an extra 15 minutes each morning, while the BBC News at 1 will move to Salford becoming an hour long programme. The lunchtime news programme will utilise the new Salford News and Sport studio that is used by Breakfast and Sportsday.
Details of how that will affect the current presenting team have not been disclosed.
Meanwhile, at the other end of the day, the widely leaked plans to convert Newsnight into a pure discussion and interview show have been confirmed. Newsnight will continue on BBC Two, but will in the future run for 30 minutes each night. A date for the changes hasn’t been communicated by the BBC.
The changes to BBC News form just part of a £500 million cost cutting plan affecting the broadcaster as a whole. Other areas seeing cuts include BBC Local Radio in England.
Speaking of the changes to Newsnight, Deborah Turness, BBC News and Current Affairs CEO said:
“Audiences have told us how much they value Newsnight as an iconic BBC debate and discussion programme, and we’ve listened to what they’ve said – we’ve made the decision to keep the programme on air five days a week, despite the financial challenges we face.
“Newsnight has also been a source of great investigative reporting and films but we know that people are consuming the news in different ways, and it can no longer make sense to keep a bespoke reporting team for a single television programme. We will offer more to audiences by investing to ensure the best investigative journalism and reporting is produced – and consumed – across the whole of BBC News.”
Additionally, weekend current affairs factual strand Our World, broadcast globally on BBC News has been axed. The BBC will also produce fewer current affairs documentaries for BBC Two.
Reinvestments
BBC News says it will be reinvesting some of the saved money into podcast, live blogs and live streaming.
It says linear audiences have fallen rapidly due to changes in viewing habits. Arguably, some of those falls may be self-inflicted, with the News channel shedding viewers after this year’s changes to the format of the service. Ongoing controversies surrounding BBC News, stoked by competitors and questions about impartiality have also not helped the broadcaster’s reputation.
[Image: On the move- BBC News at 1, presented by Ben Brown among others, is going to move to Salford.]
Marc Thornham