BBC to move its culture, children’s channel online

LONDON • Britain’s BBC will move its children’s CBBC channel and culture-focused BBC 4 online and merge its global and national news channels in changes announced on Thursday that will save millions of pounds and make the broadcaster “digital first”.

The publicly-funded broadcaster’s staff will drop by up to 1,000 over the next few years, it said.

The BBC’s income from a fee paid by all TV-watching British households has been frozen for the next two years, and will rise in line with inflation for the following four.

Director-General Tim Davie told staff that the corporation, which celebrates its centenary this year, must reform “to stay relevant and continue to provide great value for all”.

The plan will save 500 million pounds ($629 million) a year, of which 200 million pounds will make up some of the fee shortfall and 300 million pounds will be invested in digital, including new programs for its video on-demand iPlayer.

It was announced shortly after the government told the BBC to aim for one in four staffers to come from a working-class background, a target the BBC had already set.