15 October 2007
The recently-announced job cuts at the BBC might be attributable to the demands of its expanding digital TV services, reports suggest.
With two towns in the north-west becoming the first in the UK to have their analogue signals switched off this week - and with the rest of the country to also make the digital switchover over the next few years - the way in which broadcasters operate is changing.
As much as 10% of the entire BBC workforce could be laid off, following a rise in the licence fee under projected levels of inflation for the next few years.
The Daily Telegraph even reports today that the corporation's flagship Broadcasting House could be sold off to balance the books.
Detecting "a link" between the cuts and the digital revolution, the New York Times reports: "The BBC, which thrived in the cosy days when there were only a handful of channels, is struggling to adapt to the digital era…competition with hundreds of commercial channels has jolted it out of its comfort zone."
Speaking to the newspaper, Professor of Communications at the University of Westminster Steven Barnett agreed: "There is a meta-narrative to everything that’s going on with the BBC, and that’s time and money," he said.
"It all comes down to an industry that is trying to do more for less."
In recent years, the BBC has introduced two new digital channels - BBC3 and BBC4 - as well as expanding its online operations.
Along with BBC Parliament and BBC News 24 - both only available on digital - the corporation now plans to launch two news channels in Arabic and Persian.
Writing in the Sunday Times yesterday, the corporation's Director-General Mark Thompson said that the BBC should "continue its migration into the digital future".
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