The BBC has announced that the linear television channels BBC Three and BBC Scotland will cease broadcasting in the spring of 2027, along with the radio station Radio 4 Extra. The decision forms part of the corporation’s wider effort to achieve £500 million in savings over two years amid significant financial pressures the BBC just announced.
Under the plans, BBC Three and BBC Scotland will become online-only services. Content from both will continue to be produced and made available on BBC iPlayer, while BBC Three commissions will also appear on other platforms including YouTube. The corporation has indicated that investment in content for younger audiences will increase. BBC Scotland will remain accessible as a dedicated channel on iPlayer, with some of its programming also appearing on BBC One and BBC Two in Scotland. Radio 4 Extra, which primarily carries archive speech content such as comedy, drama and documentaries, will close as a linear station. Selected programs from its schedule will move to BBC Sounds, and the religious program The Daily Service will be available on Sounds as well as on local radio.
The BBC stated that the nightly Scottish news program Reporting Scotland: News at Seven will not transfer to iPlayer and will end when the linear channel closes. Audiences in Scotland will continue to be served by the corporation’s broader news output, including Reporting Scotland, The Sunday Show, Radio Scotland Breakfast, Debate Night and Scotcast.
BBC Three, aimed at younger viewers, has previously produced or launched series including Fleabag, Normal People and Gavin & Stacey. The channel moved online in 2016 before returning as a linear television service in 2022. BBC Scotland launched as a dedicated channel in 2019, offering a mix of news, sport, documentaries and entertainment, with evening television programming and a daytime simulcast of BBC Radio Scotland. Some shows carried on both channels, such as Two Doors Down and Sort Your Life Out, have been repeats of episodes first shown on other BBC networks.
The closures were outlined by director-general Matt Brittin, who took up the role in May 2026. Staff were informed of the changes on Tuesday. The announcement follows earlier media reporting that such steps were under consideration. The BBC is seeking to reduce its workforce by between 1,800 and 2,000 posts, representing nearly one in ten jobs, as part of the £500 million savings target. Approximately 550 job reductions have already been confirmed in news, and more than 30 in BBC Sport. Newly appointed director of BBC News Rachel Jupp has proposed a further £5.5 million in savings that would involve the closure of around 100 roles.
In recent weeks, the corporation has also ended several long-running or high-profile series, including RuPaul’s Drag Race UK, Blankety Blank, Celebrity Mastermind, Live at the Apollo, Football Focus and Ski Sunday. Other formats, such as DIY SOS, have been temporarily rested. The measures come as the BBC faces sustained cost pressures and a decline in traditional license-fee revenue over the past decade.
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