With the future looking increasingly uncertain, the BBC is facing staff cuts, program cancellations and the decimation of entire departments.
And now managing director Matt Brittin has admitted he was unaware of the “severity” of the cuts the company had to make to meet its savings target.
The former Googling director, who succeeded Tim Davis earlier this year he was “concerned about the financial situation” at the Corporation, he told the Edinburgh Television festival today.
Despite removing programs such as Winterwatch, Dekeny Blank and Live at the Apollo, Brittin described reports that Newsnight was for the chop as ‘nonsense’ because Top equipment was also confirmed for renewal.
But Brittin said the BBC, like “every media organisation”, was concerned about “rapidly changing consumer behaviour” and “the power of the AI revolution.’
The BBC, which needs to make £500 million in savings over the next three years, is expected to cut 2,000 jobs, with Brittin warning that management positions are also at risk.
Chief executive Matt Brittin has admitted he was unaware of the “severity” of the cuts the company had to make to meet its savings target.
Brittin described reports that Newsnight was for the chop as ‘nonsense’ as Top Gear was also confirmed for renewal
“On the financial side, I knew that cuts had been announced and cuts had been announced, but I hadn’t really understood the severity,” he said during a chat with Kirsty Wark.
Admitting the BBC was ‘inward-looking’, he added: ‘You are publicly funded and the charter rightly demands a level of quality and responsibility that is higher than others. I understand that completely.’
He added: “You have very loud critics, many of whom are the company’s commercial rivals, and you have political pressure on everything you do journalism.
‘If you make a mistake, you also have a lot to process on the opinion side. I think this leads to a little bit of risk aversion and a little bit of caution.
“Right now, the world is more uncertain than ever before for our audiences, for our industry and for all of us as businesses and as citizens.”
Brittin also said he “applied for the job because I believe in the mission” and “aware of the responsibility” of leading the organization.
Fans of Winterwatch were devastated when the program was axed this year after a fourteen-year run. The comedy show Live at the Apollo has also been discontinued after 22 years.
Light entertainment shows Carpety Blank and Celebrity Mastermind have also been cancelled, leaving producers and showrunners fearful of what will come next.
But Top Gear, which has been broadcast on the BBC in various formats for almost fifty years, will be revived.
“There has been a lot of speculation about this and we can confirm that Top Gear is coming back,” BBC entertainment director Ed Havard said at the festival.
On speculation that comedian Jimmy Carr could be in the running to host the new version of the car show, he said: ‘Jimmy would be a great host but I’m not going to talk about that today.
‘We will have more information about Top Gear soon.’
