BBC to close BBC Three BBC Scotland and Radio 4 Extra

The BBC will close its BBC Three and BBC Scotland television channels alongside its Radio 4 Extra radio station in the spring, BBC News, The National Scot, Metro.co.uk, Broadband TV News, and Variety reported. BBC News noted that the closures are part of an effort by the corporation to save £500m over two years. [1][3][4][5][6][7]

Both television services will move to become online-only platforms, according to BBC News. They will continue to create and host content on BBC iPlayer without maintaining a traditional television broadcast schedule. [1]

The corporation is also shutting down Radio 4 Extra, BBC News reported. The radio station primarily broadcasts speech programming taken from the BBC archives, which includes comedy, drama, and documentaries. [1]

BBC Three originally launched on 9 February 2003 and previously moved to an online-only format in February 2016 before it relaunched as a linear channel on 1 February 2022. BBC director-general Matt Brittin said the broadcaster needs to make every pound work harder while making tough choices in a changing world, BBC News reported. [1][8]