In order to make £500m in savings, the BBC could end up shutting down TV channels and moving shows to YouTube.
The new BBC director-general Matt Brittin has warned that “tough choices are unavoidable” in an email to staff explaining that the corporation must move with “urgency” to reinvent itself in a world of “limitless choice”.
As he raised the prospect of cutting back the BBC’s sprawling platforms and services, Brittin said that “we should ask ourselves, honestly: if we were inventing the BBC today, what would we do? Then respond with clarity, pace and purpose.”
Acknowledging that YouTube is becoming the default viewing options for millions of young people, he added that “we must be where audiences are, and experiment more bravely”.
Insiders predicted that Brittin would look at the case for closing entire channels, with the BBC is set to cut 2,000 jobs under a three-year savings plan.
Former head of BBC TV News, Roger Mosey told the i Paper that the new DG should make the iPlayer “the heart of everything the BBC does.
He explained: “That would mean fewer traditional channels: perhaps merge BBC Two and BBC Four, and finally lay to rest BBC Three”.
Brittin made no suggestion that he would look to row back on plans in place to cut 2,000 jobs from the BBC over the next three years.
The corporation is looking to make 10 per cent in savings over the same time frame as well.
Along with BBC Three and BBC Four potentially being for the chop, the i Paper reports that some news figures believe the rolling BBC News channel has become outdated in the modern era.
The BBC is also looking at extending the base of people required to pay the licence fee, which could include those who exclusively watch streaming platforms.
Brittin has already met with Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy to discuss reform to the licence fee.