UK’s BBC to cut £150m from content spend

The BBC is to cut spending on content by almost £150m in the next financial year and has admitted the “ambition and volume” of its shows are at risk without “intervention”.

Overall content spend across TV, radio and online will fall by £143m from £2.69bn to £2.55bn in 2025/26, while TV service spend will fall by £76m from £1.89bn the previous year to £1.82bn, according to the corporation’s Annual Plan, released on Monday.

“Despite strong growth from BBC commercial, the BBC faces an unprecedented content funding challenge, as co-production partnerships with global streamers and media companies have reduced across the sector,” said the plan.

“Without intervention, it will be difficult to maintain the current ambition and volume of UK content,” according to the Virdee and Amandaland broadcaster.

The corporation warned of more troubled times coming for UK indies, but set out an aim to support producers’ work with the help of international players. 

“The reduction in global TV commissions and co-commissioning is likely to put further pressure on British production companies, and a concentration of spend into high-budget genres may lead to proportionately greater activity in and around London, given that the talent and resources is less likely to be available at scale elsewhere,” it said.

“We will continue to work hand-in-hand with the creative industries to drive growth in the creative economy and support homegrown content and storytelling. That may include exploring options with the industry around how global media organisations could contribute more to supporting UK content and enhancing tax credits.”

The BBC’s claims come despite a COBA report, exclusively revealed by Broadcast last week, that showed US-UK co-commissions had shot up in 2024, with the broadcaster benefitting from the most with 13.

However, its comments about producers’ health come barely two weeks after UK trade body Pact predicted a drastically diminished indie landscape if commissioning trends continue over the next five years.

Despite the reduced spend on content, the BBC reported a healthier balance book compared with the previous 2024/25 plan, which showed a projected deficit of £492m. The latest 2025/26 plan reveals a much smaller projected deficit of £33m for the coming year.

“Our previous 24/25 plan indicated that we would have a one-off deficit reflecting the cost of change and utilisation of our cash reserves…[We are] moving back to a group operating surplus, but due to some delayed transformation costs from 24/25 there is still a small deficit for the year in 25/26,” it said.

BBC News transformation

Elsewhere, the corporation said BBC News would be a key area of focus in the coming year, with plans to strengthen the iPlayer-led news offering and social media content to reach younger audiences.

The plan, which has landed weeks after an AI team was established within BBC News, revealed the success of last year’s launch of a News rail on the iPlayer homepage, which has led to an 8% uplift in weekly active accounts viewing news on iPlayer in 2024 vs 2023.

As well as capitalising on this uplift, the plan indicated there will be an expanded presence of news on TikTok, YouTube and Instagram in the coming year, as well as further investment in vertical and short-form video capabilities.

This will “enrich” experiences on the BBC’s owned platforms, drive off-platform reach and help better serve audiences from lower socio-economic backgrounds, according to the plan.

“As news consumption increasingly moves online, we are strengthening our commitment to a compelling iPlayer-led news offer, with breaking news and outstanding in-depth documentaries at its heart,” it said.

While it points to the continued embracing of AI through pilot programmes – including within the World Service - the plan also revealed the BBC will open up conversations with leading AI technology providers and other news brands to find tackle the problem of ‘distortion’. This is what happens when AI ‘scrapes’ information and serves up an answer that is factually incorrect or misleading.

Another aspect of the corporation’s plan to tackle misinformation is the expansion of BBC Verify –introduced in 2023 – with a daily digital output and a dedicated commitment to US coverage and the presidency of Donald Trump. The BBC will also target schools, launching an initiative to help kids better gauge the legitimacy of news stories for themselves.

Director general Tim Davie said: “We are focused on our mission to deliver value for all, through our journalism, our storytelling and our unique ability to bring people together.

“The UK’s creative industry continues to change rapidly, as does the world around us. This plan sets out how the BBC continues to evolve for audiences, both on and off air, but also how we will support and invest in the wider industry.”