Manori Ravindran International EditorSkyShowtime — the joint venture between Comcast and Paramount Global — has unveiled key hires for the European streaming service, including its head of programming.BBC Select executive Jon Farrar has been named head of programming, Variety can reveal. The executive joins from BBC Studios, where he led the direct-to-consumer programming strategy in his dual role as global VOD director and editor-in-chief of North American SVOD service BBC Select.Farrar was also part of the team that developed BritBox, the streaming joint venture between BBC Studios and ITV.Reporting into SkyShowtime CEO Monty Sarhan, Farrar will be responsible for programming strategy, overseeing the platform’s pipeline of studio content, and building a programming team across SkyShowtime’s 20 markets to develop original and local content.
BBC To Close CBBC & BBC Four As Linear Channels; 1,000 Jobs At Risk As Public Broadcaster Begins Its “Digital First” Push
26.05.2022 - 17:35 / deadline.com
The BBC has announced it will axe up to 1,000 employees across the next few years while also stopping the broadcast of smaller, but much-loved, linear channels such as children’s channel CBBC and BBC Four. The move comes as director general Tim Davie laid out initial plans as to how the BBC will save around £1.5B ($2B) across the next few years as a result of a government-enforced license fee freeze across the next two years.
The public broadcaster also revealed that it would be merging its BBC World News and BBC News Channel into a single, 24-hour TV channel as it makes a big push to digitize its business across the next few years. Its Radio 4 station would move online to BBC sounds rather than via its traditional broadcast outlet.
In an announcement to staff on Thursday, Director General Tim Davie told staff “this is our moment to build a digital-first BBC.”
The move will come as somewhat of a surprise given only last month Davie rejected the idea of completely cutting a whole service, but the exec said there was a robust plan in place to move these channels to the BBC iPlayer, with an ambition to reach 75% of BBC viewers through iPlayer each week.
The company will ramp up investment in its regional programming while making a big push to accelerate digital growth across its television and radio programs.
The first phase of savings represents £500M ($628M) of annual savings and reinvestment to make the BBC digital-led. As part of this, £200M ($251M) will contribute to the £285M ($358M) annual funding gap by 2027/28, created by the license fee settlement earlier this year. The remaining funding gap will be covered in the final three years of the Charter period.
The BBC has already undergone multiple rounds of redundancies in
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BBC Four and CBBC set to go online only as part of plans for “digital-first BBC”
BBC to be “digital-first”.The corporation has confirmed that the two channels will stop airing in no less than three years’ time, with content continuing to be produced for its streaming service BBC iPlayer.As part of the shake-up, the BBC’s news channels will be merged into one, while Radio 4 Extra will move off the airwaves and exclusively to BBC Sounds.The BBC said the changes are aimed at “creating a modern, digital-led and streamlined organisation that drives the most value from the licence fee and delivers more for audiences”.The changes will lead to cuts of £200million per year, with job losses of up to 1,000 expected over the next few years.“This is our moment to build a digital-first BBC. Something genuinely new, a Reithian organisation for the digital age, a positive force for the UK and the world,” said director-general Tim Davie.“Independent, impartial, constantly innovating and serving all.
BBC Four and CBBC to end as audiences ‘watch streaming shows instead’
Popular BBC TV channels, BBC Four and CBBC are set to end, as audiences "watch streaming shows instead." Director-General of the BBC, Tim Davie, announced the news today after more and more audiences are turning to streaming services to watch their programmes. He also revealed that there is set to be a cut of around 1,000 jobs, as BBC embarks on a £500million budget cut for the taxpayer-funded corporation, which looks to move towards a "digital-first BBC." As he spoke to BBC staff, Tim said: "This is our moment to build a digital-first BBC. Something genuinely new, a Reithian organisation for the digital age, a positive force for the UK and the world.
CBBC and BBC Four channels to close as part of £500,000,000 cuts
Disney Plus. He stressed, however, the changes won’t come in for at least another three years. Speaking to BBC staff on Thursday, Davie said: ‘This is our moment to build a digital-first BBC.
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