The BBC said on Tuesday it will drop two of its radio stations and scale back its Web spending as part of a wide—ranging revamp at the 88—year—old media giant.
The broadcaster’s plans include cutting both 6 Music station, aimed at alternative music listeners, and Asian Network, geared toward Britons of south Asian descent, as it also halves the number of Web pages it hosts. Spending will be cut by 25 percent.
Physical media, such as its stable of a dozen—plus magazines, may also be affected.
Broadcasting union Bectu said up to 600 jobs could go in the shake—up.
BBC Director Mark Thompson said the money saved - about 600 million pounds (nearly $900 million) - would be redirected into producing high—quality programming.
The BBC depends heavily on TV license fees paid by British consumers, and complaints have multiplied that the national broadcaster costs too much money. Competing broadcasters have complained that the fees give the BBC an unfair advantage.
