The BBC World Service has announced that it will be making a series of changes in order to meet savings requirements for the year ahead.Despite the UK government providing an uplift in the grant-in-aid funding for the World Service, the BBC says that previous freezes on the licence fee, global inflation, and the need for ongoing digital and technological upkeep have meant cuts are necessary. The BBC World Service adds that is also “operating in a highly competitive global media environment with international news providers investing billions in state-backed media that sees increased competition for staff, platforms and frequencies, and audiences”.In total, the savings needed for the next financial year are around €7.1 million and will largely be met by the closure of posts with a net reduction of around 130 roles.Jonathan Munro, Global Director and Deputy CEO, BBC News, commented: “While the result of the latest grant-in-aid funding settlement means we are able to maintain all of our existing language services, we were clear it would not stave off difficult decisions in order to remain globally competitive and meet our savings requirements. These changes will ensure we operate effectively with the resource we have, creating the most impact for audiences internationally.”Key changes will include: closing posts across the BBC World Service in the UK and internationally, closing roles in BBC Monitoring whilst also reinvesting in strategically important skills, making changes to the commissioning mix on World Service English, and reshaping some of the World Service Language teams to enhance the focus on digital output.
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