BBC to Merge TV and Audio Commissioning as About 100 Content Roles Close
The BBC is merging its TV and audio commissioning teams, and around 100 roles in its content unit are set to close by the end of its current financial year. Commissioning is the work of deciding which programmes get made and paid for. Deadline reported the changes on 22 October, citing an internal memo from BBC content chief Kate Phillips.
From January 2027, the teams that commission comedy, arts and classical music will combine their TV and audio (radio and podcast) work. Chris Sussman will oversee comedy across TV and radio. Julia McKenzie, Radio 4's commissioning editor for comedy and entertainment, is joining his team.
In arts, Suzy Klein, head of arts and classical music TV, will oversee audio and video commissioning, with Matthew Dodd, Radio 4's commissioning editor for arts, joining her. Sam Jackson, controller of BBC Radio 3 and BBC Proms, will oversee audio and video commissioning for classical music.
The changes are part of a plan to save £500 million (about $669 million). The content unit will contribute £100 million of that. The memo sets out an £80 million cut in commissioning spend, which would mean 100 to 150 fewer hours of original TV shows and 350 to 400 fewer hours of audio by March 2028. Development spend, the money used to shape ideas before they reach a screen or a speaker, is to fall by around 15%.
On jobs, the BBC said it will prioritise voluntary redundancy, where staff choose to leave with a payment, and closing vacancies. The aim is to keep compulsory redundancies, where staff are told to leave, to a minimum.
The BBC has also announced that some well-known programmes are casualties of the cuts. These include RuPaul's Drag Race UK, Blankety Blank, Celebrity Mastermind and Live At The Apollo.
The content unit is not the only part of the corporation cutting back. On 20 October, Deadline reported that BBC News planned to close more than 100 roles over the coming months, with savings expected to reach £5.5 million. Earlier in the year, the BBC had said it planned to cut around 550 jobs across the corporation as part of its savings plan, according to reports from The Hollywood Reporter and Variety.
Behind the numbers are two kinds of people. Some are staff whose jobs are closing, and who are being offered the choice of voluntary exit first. Others work on the programmes that will now not be commissioned, and on the ideas that will not reach development. The memo lists the hours and the percentages. It is the decisions about individual shows and roles that will show how the plan lands.
