BBC prepares to announce TV and radio closures as BBC Three looks vulnerable
The BBC is getting ready to tell viewers which TV and radio services will close.
The announcement on "audience-facing" closures — meaning the channels and stations people actually watch and listen to — is expected early next week, according to an exclusive report by Deadline. The closures are part of a plan to save £500 million ($660M) over the coming years.
Nothing is confirmed yet. That same report says a BBC spokesperson declined to comment, and stresses that no final decisions on closures have been locked in.
BBC insiders and industry sources cited by Deadline believe the youth network BBC Three is vulnerable. Radio services are also expected to change, although details have not been made public.
The savings drive is led by director general Matt Brittin. In June, he told staff the BBC would cut commissioning spend — the money used to order and make new programmes — across TV, radio and news by £80M.
It is part of a much larger squeeze. The £500M target sits on top of an earlier £1.5 billion savings goal. Up to 2,000 jobs are at risk under the strategy, about one in ten staff, according to recent reporting. Unions have rejected two BBC pay offers, raising the prospect of industrial action.
BBC Three has been here before. The channel was moved online-only in 2016 and restored to television in 2022. During its online-only years it launched Fleabag and This Country.
It is now home to RuPaul's Drag Race UK, Things You Should Have Done and Smoggie Queens. RuPaul's Drag Race UK was recently cancelled by the BBC.
Radio is already shifting. Staff in Manchester were told on Wednesday about plans to axe sports bulletins on the BBC's news channel. The BBC has previously said Radio 4 broadcasts on Long Wave will end on 27 June 2026, ahead of the Long Wave platform closing on 30 June, according to a BBC Media Centre notice.
This would not be the first round of visible cuts. BBC Arabic radio went off air in 2023 after 85 years of broadcasting, following a decision to close Arabic and Persian radio as part of World Service savings. In 2024, the BBC closed HARDtalk and made 130 redundancies in its news division.
The pressure comes from how the BBC is paid for. About 94% of the UK population use the BBC every month, but fewer than 80% pay the £180 annual licence fee, Deadline reported. In June, the BBC announced £160M in savings involving the closure of 550 roles across News, Nations and Content by the start of 2027/28.
For fans, this means uncertainty. A closure does not just remove a channel name. It decides where existing shows live, whether new series get ordered, and what happens to the crews who make them.
