BBC Newsnight could be scrapped as part of the broadcaster’s attempt to save some £500million.
Staff on the late night current affairs show fear it could be cut as soon as the end of the year, while its team has already fallen from 57 to 23 after its special investigations unit was axed.
But now, sources have told The Sun the programme could be shelved altogether with priority given to BBC News at Six and News at Ten.
“Everyone is concerned for Newsnight and how it will fare in the next cuts,” a source told the newspaper.
“We’ve been warned there are likely budget reductions and revisions next year.”
The rumours come amid the BBC’s broader shift towards short social media “clips” and its iPlayer on-demand service.
“The new Director-General has made it clear that success is down to clicks,” the source added.
Production of BBC Newsnight merged with Laura Kuenssberg’s Sunday show in June.
The BBC has already cut more than 500 jobs to reach the £500million in savings needed
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BBCMatt Brittin, a former Google executive who replaced Tim Davie amid the fallout over the BBC’s Panorama Donald Trump edit, has already cut more than 500 jobs to save money.
His plans have also seen several Radio 4 shows, including The World Tonight, scrapped.
Though while the broadcaster appears to be shifting away from its flagship news programmes, its spending elsewhere has come under heavy fire.
In February it faced criticism from the Adam Smith Institute for its £175million pension commitments, with the think tank arguing those funds should be diverted to programming instead.
BBC Newsnight has already cut staff and merged production with Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg
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BBC
And in January, it was revealed the corporation was shelling out £63million on taxis for programme guests and staff – equivalent to 361,000 Britons’ licence fee cash.
In 2024, the broadcaster said it would invest a minimum of £80million per year into “content that meets the BBC’s creative diversity criteria”.
Included in that investment was a raising of representation targets for TV production teams from 20 per cent to 25 per cent.
July’s annual list of highest-paid BBC presenters revealed that sacked radio host Scott Mills earned nearly £750,000 from the corporation before he was faced with accusations of historic sexual offences.
Matt Brittin, pictured at an event in 2018, has shifted the broadcaster’s focus to iPlayer and social media clips
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GETTYRadio 1 host Greg James, Northern Irish radio host Stephen Nolan, news host Mrs Kuenssberg, and Radio 2 host Vernon Kay all received more than £400,000, while football pundit Alan Shearer earned £390,000.
The BBC said last night that since Newsnight’s reformat, including a cut from 45 minutes to 30, “it has significantly increased its audiences and won an award”.
“The BBC needs to save £500million over the next three years,” a spokesman added.
“News will play its part in contributing to those savings.”
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