BBC to close BBC Three, BBC Scotland and Radio 4 Extra in 2027

The BBC will close its linear channels BBC Three, BBC Scotland and Radio 4 Extra, director general Matt Brittin announced on Tuesday, according to Deadline. The closures are expected to take effect in spring 2027.

The BBC must save £500 million ($670M) by 2028, but has so far announced only £200 million of cuts. Two insiders told Deadline that shutting the three channels will save only around £10 million toward that target.

Leaders at the corporation discussed merging CBBC with CBeebies but rejected the idea in order to protect children's public service media. The BBC has also held tentative discussions about folding BBC Sounds into iPlayer to create a single video and audio streaming service.

Elsewhere in the savings drive, BBC Media Tech must save £102 million by next year, and the BBC has announced around 1,200 job cuts, 800 short of its intended target. Content chief Kate Phillips has merged TV and audio commissioning teams in comedy and arts.

The broadcaster has lost more than two million licence fee payers since 2020, and BBC Sounds launched in 2018. During an internal all-staff call earlier this month, Brittin said he wanted iPlayer to be an entertainment destination, and a reimagined iPlayer was demonstrated by product designer Manon Dave.