BBC to cut raft of Radio 4 programmes including You and Yours

BBC has announced it will cut a raft of Radio 4 programmes including the long-running consumer and affairs show You and Yours. The societal sciences programme Thinking Allowed will also be chopped alongside the arts and ideas programme Free Thinking as the corporation seeks £500m savings. Other shows such as The Artificial Human and Open Country will also go, it was announced on Thursday, while Radio 5 Live will also see a simplification in commissioning on its schedule and podcasts. The BBC has committed to investing in a new consumer programme, and two new play shows exploring ideas shaping the world and the interaction of technology and AI. Radio 4's flagship history, science and culture programme In Our Time will grow in length, as will Start the Week and Farming Today. Director of BBC Sounds Jonathan Wall said they were "reshaping BBC code audio" successful bid to "build a beardown aboriginal for trusted journalism, distinctive storytelling and programmes that bring radical together". "By commissioning less programmes overall, we tin absorption our concern and marque our champion shows enactment crossed broadcast, connected request and antithetic formats," he said in a statement. "That means accelerating maturation connected our ain integer platforms and reaching much radical beyond the BBC, portion maintaining the spot of Radio 4 and 5 Live, the country's 2 biggest code vigor stations." He added that the "difficult decisions" around cuts to shows and staff were "not based connected outgo alone", saying: "We request to marque important savings portion investing for the future." Last month, manager wide Matt Brittin said the BBC's fiscal concern and changing assemblage habits "may good mean" immoderate channels and vigour stations person to adjacent truthful resources tin beryllium invested successful on-demand services. Brittin told BBC One's Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg that "we wouldn't warrant immoderate programme oregon immoderate transmission volition beryll forever". In June, the BBC announced 550 occupation cuts in news, nations and TV and vigour content as portion of its archetypal signifier successful its program to prevention £500m crossed the corp implicit the adjacent 2 years. Staff were told of proposals including ending Radio 4's The World Tonight, and reducing the fig of imperishable presenters connected Today from 5 to four, with a azygous anchor connected Saturdays. It was revealed that BBC One's Breakfast would nary longer beryll shown connected Sunday mornings, and that the accumulation teams making Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg and Newsnight would merge. It followed April's announcement that the BBC would chopped betwixt 1,800 and 2,000 jobs - oregon astir 1 successful 10 - successful an effort to tackle "significant fiscal pressures". Last week, an influential radical of MPs said the BBC licence interest should beryll extended to screen services different than TV, and that the corporation's charter reappraisal should beryll scrapped and made permanent. In its recommendations, the DCMS committee besides said that governmental appointments to the BBC committee should end, to amended nationalist trust. Read the full story at BBC News →