The BBC has offered ‘accelerated voluntary redundancy’ to the majority of staff in its sports department as it seeks to drastically reshape its output and focus on digital content, Mail Sport understands.
As part of the proposals, set to come in from the summer, long-running news channel staple Sportsday is to be axed along with a series of presenting roles in significant changes one insider has claimed will ‘effectively kill sports news on television’.
The broadcaster believes the moves will allow it to focus on growing its audience. In total, it is seeking to close 27 roles and create 27 roles as it seeks to transform its sports news coverage with more emphasis on reactive stories via streaming and original journalism rather than traditional TV coverage.
At a meeting on Wednesday plans to drastically reduce the number of sports bulletins and end the days of the flagship News at 6 and 10 programmes crossing to BBC HQ at MediaCity for sports updates at the weekends were shared.
In the short-term, three presenters and two correspondents are expected to be made redundant while there will also be job cuts to producers on the output and news gathering sides of what is set to be a significantly-altered operation.
The majority of BBC Sport staff will be permitted to seek what has been described as ‘accelerated voluntary redundancy’ amid a wider picture of rapid change.
The BBC has offered ‘accelerated voluntary redundancy’ to the majority of staff in its sports department as it seeks to drastically reshape its output and focus on digital content
Director of sport Alex Kay-Jelski is said to be driving the changes and informed staff today
Long-running news channel staple Sportsday will be axed as part of the dramatic changes
First broadcast in 2001, Sportsday is shown up to 12 times daily from Monday to Thursday, 11 times on Friday and twice daily at the weekend.
Recognisable around the globe, it includes news, results and action from major sporting events.
Following the changes, there will also only be one sports bulletin on the BBC’s news channel through the day, at 1.30pm, and another at 11.45pm.
Director of sport Alex Kay-Jelski, who joined the broadcaster last June, is thought to be driving the changes. He led the meeting at MediaCity, in Salford, which was also viewed via videolink. The atmosphere amid some in the department post-meeting has been described to Mail Sport as ‘funereal’.
The BBC’s Breakfast show, meanwhile, will continue to feature a sports presenter.
‘It feels like they are killing sports news on television,’ a source claimed. ‘Those involved are distraught. It came as a shock and it’s fair to say that none of them saw it coming. They’re basically decimating the output of sports news on television.’
A BBC spokesperson said the ‘proposed changes’ would ‘allow us to enhance our storytelling and live event coverage to ensure we remain relevant and deliver more value for audiences across the UK’.
Talks are currently ongoing between BBC bosses and trade unions. The measures are part of a plan to cater to a bigger audience. Reactive stories on streaming platforms, along with more original journalism, are expected to feature prominently.
