The BBC has confirmed it will close three channels next year as part of cost-cutting measures to save £500 million.
All the channels the BBC will shut down as of spring 2027
The BBC has announced it will stop broadcasting three of its channels on linear TV and radio, as part of cost-cutting measures which will also see it cut jobs across BBC News.
Which channels are being axed?
Content from this channel will still be available on iPlayer and on other platforms, including YouTube.
The Scottish channel will still be an option online but not on television.
Programmes from the station will still be on the BBC Sounds app and the Daily Service will be broadcast on local radio.
What is behind the cuts?
100
jobs from next spring in a bid to make savings to secure the broadcaster’s future.
The BBC needs to save…
by 2028 to respond to the pressures of rising costs.
“We need to make every pound work harder for audiences as we respond to the immediate cost pressures and reinvent the BBC for a changing world. We all know that means tough choices… I recognise the confirmation of this news will be hard for audiences and colleagues”
bBC Director-General Matt Brittin
New rights for drivers to challenge ‘rip-off’ parking fines
Andy Burnham has announced a new set of rules to protect drivers from unfair parking charges, giving them the right to appeal fines they receive as a result of “honest mistakes” or certain acceptable excuses.
What do the new rules cover?
Grace period
Drivers will get 5 minutes to buy a ticket on arrival and 10 minutes to leave.
Honest mistakes
Time to check directions once in the car.
Extraordinary situations
Problems outside a driver’s control such as a breakdown or medical emergency.
3 min read
How will the rules work?
- Drivers will still be fined but will have the right to appeal.
- Not displaying the permit or mistyping your number-plate will see the fine reduced to £20.
2 min read
What is not changing?
- The code comes into force on 21 December.
- Most parking firms were already following these rules as set by their trade bodies, but they can now be legally enforced.
- There was already a cap of £100 on fines, which remains in place.
- Fees for late payment are still capped at £70, though the Government has promised a consultation on the charge.
How AI tool can predict cancer survival by patient selfie
An AI tool developed by doctors can predict a cancer patient’s chance of survival by scanning a single picture of their face, new research has found.
What does the research show?
Researchers at academic health centre Mass General Brigham in Boston, Massachusetts, trained the AI tool on more than 40 million images of cancer patients. The scanner estimates a person’s biological age (how old they look rather than their chronological age) and predicts their chances of survival from cancer.
4 min read
How does the technology work?
The system relies on two tools which scan different parts of the face for clues, one looking at the area below the eyes and the other focussed on the creases around the mouth, forehead and temples.
The people who looked five or more years older than their actual age had a 21 per cent higher risk of dying during the average four-year follow-up than the rest of the group. The patients who looked five or more years younger had a 17 per cent lower risk.
Results could guide treatment plans
As the population ages, physicians need better ways to estimate physical reserve and frailty before recommending intensive treatments such as radiation, surgery or systemic therapy…[The technology] can support personalised treatment decisions.
Dr Raymond Mak, radiation oncologist at Mass General Brigham
More health from The i Paper
The poll that shows how Badenoch bounce is punishing Reform
Kemi Badenoch‘s rising popularity has pushed the Conservative Party ahead of Reform UK to being seen publicly as the main opposition party to Labour for the first time this Parliament, a new poll has found.
What did the poll find?
Of the 2,200 surveyed by pollster Ipsos…
35%
said they view the Conservatives as the main opposition party.
This put them three points ahead of reform on…
32%
Reform was the party in second place for most of the summer, at around three points behind Labour.
Party conference push
Ipsos conducted the poll from 9-13 October after the Tory party’s conference in Birmingham, suggesting Badenoch’s speech went down well. She promised to scrap inheritance tax on family homes, a £10bn air and missile defence system and 50,000 new prison places. The Tories could also be benefitting from the racism and sexism scandal dogging Nigel Farage’s Reform.
3 min read
A temporary bounce?
Meanwhile, in the battle for hearts and minds on the right, the Conservatives continue to make progress. Time will tell if this leads to a decisive shift in voter preferences in their direction or if this is merely a low ebb for Reform UK that they recover from.
Keiran Pedley, UK Director of Politics at Ipsos
Badenoch attacks Reform UK
Programmes on Radio 4 Extra, which airs shows from the BBC’s archive including comedy, drama and documentaries, will move to the BBC Sounds app.
The closures are the latest blow to staff, already facing widespread redundances as the broadcaster pursues a cuts programme in response to a worsening financial situation.
The BBC said it “needs to make tough decisions due to the sustained financial pressures facing the organisation and must make savings of £500 million by 2028.”
In a note to staff setting out the changes, BBC Director-General Matt Brittin said: “We need to make every pound work harder for audiences as we respond to the immediate cost pressures and reinvent the BBC for a changing world. We all know that means tough choices.”
It is the second time BBC Three has been axed. The channel, which aired shows such as , was moved entirely online in 2016 before Tim Davie, the former Director-General, restored BBC Three to television screens in 2022.
However live viewing figures remained low and the channel became one of the broadcaster’s most expensive services in terms of cost-per-viewer.
The corporation will shift programming for viewers aged 16-34 from BBC Three to YouTube.
BBC Scotland will remain on iPlayer, but will no longer be a broadcast channel on television. Content will be available on BBC One and BBC Two in Scotland
Brittin added: “Much of the great content they currently carry will still be found where audiences already enjoy it on iPlayer and Sounds. While this follows media speculation, I recognise the confirmation of this news will be hard for audiences and colleagues.”
Meanwhile the new Director of BBC News, Rachel Jupp, has announced more cuts taking total job losses in her department to 100.
Jupp said she will be laying out plans for further savings early next year as part of the longer-term vision for BBC News.
A cost-cutting review will look at how presenters are used across video, audio and digital, as well as how to get as much value as possible from long form journalism, planning and commissioning.
Other divisions will confirm savings plans as soon as possible in the coming months, the BBC said.