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BBC to close half website, cut US content

In a report to be published next month, state-funded BBC will announce plans to axe digital radio stations 6 Music and Asian network, halve the size of its website and cut its spending on American TV shows, the Times reported in its Friday edition.

The broadcaster will also close its teenage brands BBC Switch and Blast and limit the amount it spends on rights for sports events to about 300 million pounds.

The cuts are considered a move to appease both politicians and rival broadcasters, such as ITV and Channel 4, who have been hit by a slump in advertising revenues.

A government report last year suggested the corporation, which receives a guaranteed 3.6 billion pounds ($5.5 billion) income a year from the license fee, could share a slice of its funding with weaker rivals.

No one at the BBC, renowned for its news coverage and programs such as The Office and Doctor Who, could immediately be reached for comment.

The broadcaster’s commercial subsidiary, BBC Worldwide will also be forced to get rid of its British magazine arms, which publishes titles such as Top Gear and Gardener’s World, and focus instead on its overseas activities, The Times said.

Last year a report by the Commons Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee criticized the wider corporation for chasing commercial revenues through Worldwide and questioned why the BBC should produce its own magazines.