The BBC has announced that CBBC, BBC Four and Radio 4 Extra will no longer be broadcast as linear channels.
The news is part of a plan to shake up the organization, with the goal of creating “a modern, digital and streamlined organization that gets the most out of the license fee.”
BBC World News and BBC News Channel will also merge to become a single channel, simply titled BBC News.
CEO Tim Davie told staff on Thursday (May 26th) the need to reform the organization to stay relevant and continue to bring great value to its users.
“When I took on this job I said we had to fight for something important: public service content and services, of universal free disposal, for the good of all,” he said.
“This fight is intensifying, there is a lot at stake.”
Davie confirmed that while the changes to the channels will not take place over the next three years, the plan to remove them from linear television is underway for the future.
BBC Headquarters in London (PA)
(PA child)
Other changes noted in the press release include plans for new on-demand content and formats for news and current affairs, arranging for some of the World Service languages to be digital only.
In addition, there are plans to stop programming separate content for Radio 4 Long Wave, ahead of the Long Wave platform.