BBC SPORT HIT BY FRESH CUTS AS NEWS BULLETINS ARE AXED — STAFF FACE COMPULSORY REDUNDANCIES AND JOB ‘EXAMS’
BBC Sport has confirmed another major round of cost-cutting, with its lunchtime and overnight sports bulletins on the 24-hour BBC News channel set to be scrapped as the corporation pushes ahead with a sweeping restructure.
The move will also reduce the number of journalists working across BBC Sport, with some staff facing compulsory redundancy after voluntary departures failed to deliver enough cuts.
According to The Times, staff were informed of the latest changes on Wednesday. Seven sports journalists are reportedly set to lose their jobs, including some in senior positions, while the newsroom is continuing to consider possible strike action in response to the wider changes.
But the cuts will go further than the loss of familiar bulletins.
Some BBC Sport staff will reportedly have to re-apply for their existing positions and complete a written exercise as part of the process. One insider described the prospect of having to sit the exercise as “insulting”.
The latest changes come as BBC Sport director Alex Kay-Jelski continues to reshape the corporation’s coverage, with a strong focus on reaching younger audiences and changing the way the BBC approaches sports content.
Kay-Jelski has previously defended the broadcaster’s ability to remain relevant despite losing rights to a number of major live sporting events.
Speaking in February, he said: “You can still be relevant, you can still matter if you don’t show the sport. No-one out there can show it all.
“So, you just have to make sure you’re in the conversation of the things that matter.”
Under Kay-Jelski, BBC Sport has moved away from several long-running programmes and events, including Football Focus, the Commonwealth Games, the Boat Race, Ski Sunday and the Rugby League World Cup.
Formula 1, England’s Six Nations matches and The Open have also moved to different broadcasters.
Kay-Jelski has acknowledged that the transformation will not please everyone, arguing that the BBC cannot allow concerns about backlash to prevent it from experimenting with new formats.
“It’s OK if a lot of these innovations don’t make everybody happy,” he said. “It’s also OK if some of the traditional forms of whether it’s media content or sporting content don’t make people happy.
“There are too many millions of different types of fans out there to start living in fear and not trying things because you’re worried about backlash.”
With the lunchtime and overnight bulletins now facing the axe and journalists being forced to compete for roles they already hold, the latest measures mark another significant step in the BBC Sport overhaul.
