# BBC axes three channels to find £500m in cuts

> BBC Three, BBC Scotland and Radio 4 Extra will close in spring as the corporation tries to plug a funding crisis, but insiders say it is only halfway to its savings target.
- Title: BBC axes three channels to find £500m in cuts · the Guardian
- Summary: BBC Three, BBC Scotland and Radio 4 Extra will close in spring as the corporation tries to plug a funding crisis, but insiders say it is only halfway to its…
- Keywords: bbc, bbc three, bbc scotland, radio 4 extra, channel closures, cost cuts, matt brittin, public service broadcasting, streaming, television, news, world
- Source: the Guardian — https://theguardian.com/media/2026/oct/20/bbc-three-and-bbc-scotland-tv-channels-to-be-shut-down
- Published: 2026-10-20T14:54:59+00:00
- Read time: 2 min
- Topics: bbc, bbc three, bbc scotland, radio 4 extra, channel closures, cost cuts, matt brittin, public service broadcasting, streaming, television, news, world
## BBC announces three closures
BBC Three and BBC Scotland TV channels will close in spring, along with Radio 4 Extra radio station. All three will move online as the corporation cuts five hundred million pounds in costs.
## Director general on tough choices
Matt Brittin, BBC director general, said the corporation needed to make every pound work harder for audiences. He added: we all know that means tough choices.

> we all know that means tough choices
## BBC News loses 100 jobs
A further one hundred jobs will be cut at BBC News to save five point five million pounds.
## Halfway to savings target
BBC insiders said the corporation was not even halfway to meeting its five hundred million pound target. Only about two hundred million pounds has been cut so far, suggesting more controversial cuts will follow.
## BBC Three's second closure
This marks the second time BBC Three's linear TV channel has closed.It moved online in two thousand sixteen but was brought back in two thousand twenty two.
## BBC Three's young audience online
BBC Three, aimed at young audiences, was an obvious candidate to move online where younger viewers have migrated. Typically about four percent of the UK population watch the channel live in a week.
## BBC Scotland's low viewership
BBC Scotland's viewership was seen as too low to justify the cost of keeping it on air.
## Staff fear for public service content
BBC executives said they planned to safeguard content fulfilling its duty to produce programming for everyone. However, many staff now fear the BBC is targeting public service content that commercial rivals would never replicate.
## Union warns of irreparable damage
Philippa Childs, head of the Bectu union, said the latest cuts and channel closures were in danger of causing irreparable damage to the BBC and would do yet more harm to employee morale.

> in danger of causing irreparable damage to the BBC
## Insiders fear licence fee exodus
One BBC insider said the corporation was taking an axe to so much content unmatched by the commercial sector.

> taking an axe to so much content that is unmatched by the commercial sector
## Key takeaway

The BBC is closing three channels and cutting 100 jobs at BBC News to save money, but has only found about two hundred million pounds of its five hundred million pound target so far.