The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has announced it
will cut more than 1,000 jobs due to a £150 million ($233.5 million) budget
shortfall from lost TV license revenue.
BBC executives said one million fewer people own television
sets than was projected in 2011, due to viewers’ increasing use of Internet
streaming services and other online media for news and entertainment.
The state-funded broadcaster makes much of its revenue from
fees collected from owners of TV sets. The fee, about $225 per year, has been
frozen since 2010.
The first round of cuts this year will slash £50 million ($77.8
million), with a focus on management positions.
The bulk of the lost positions will come from professional and
support departments such as finance and marketing, and from management positions.
The broadcaster is considering merging
BBC with its commercial BBC Worldwide.
Last year, the head of the BBC news channel told staff that
400 jobs will be cut before 2016-2017 to comply with previously announced goals.
BBC employs a staff of about 18,000, with 6,000 of that number working for the news
channel.
Read More:
- BBC to Cut More Than 1,000 Jobs (BBC)
- BBC to Cut 1000 Jobs in Management Cull (Wall
Street Journal) - BBC to Cut 1000 Jobs in Management Cull (The
Telegraph)