BBC ‘to streamline online services to make content easier to find’

BBC ‘to streamline online services to make content easier to find’

The BBC is reportedly set to cut back its online services in an attempt to make its content easier to find as it looks to fight competition from US streaming services.

According to The Daily Telegraph, the BBC Earth and BBC Arts sections of the website will be removed and there will be fewer features as well as less of a focus on celebrity gossip.

Instead, the paper says, the corporation will focus on eight key areas: iPlayer, news, music and spoken word, weather, sport, children’s content, BBC Bitesize and the bbc.co.uk home page.

BBC director-general Tony Hall
BBC director-general Tony Hall has reportedly told staff the corporation is set to streamline its online services (Justin Tallis/PA)

BBC director-general Tony Hall reportedly said to staff in an announcement on Monday: “In the global market, against well-resourced competitors, we have to concentrate on a smaller number of services that deliver our best content online.”

The BBC is also trying to improve its offering to young people. In March, the corporation announced it was launching a new children’s app.

BBC
The BBC is said to be streamlining its online services as it looks to compete with US streaming giants (Lauren Hurley/PA)

In June, Lord Hall warned Britain could be “sleepwalking towards a world in which children and young people barely encounter public service broadcasting content”.

He joined Channel 4 chief executive Alex Mahon to call for an update to legislation to ensure public service content has prominence on smart televisions, tablets and smartphones.

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