BBC boss gives update on fate of BBC Four, CBBC amid closure plans
Charlotte Moore says the channels won't close until they no longer "bring value to audiences".
Charlotte Moore, the BBC's Chief Content Officer, has addressed the future of both BBC Four and the CBBC channel, following the announcement that both are to close.
BBC Director-General Tim Davie announced the closures in May of this year, following the government's decision to freeze the licence fee for two years.
Though both channels are expected to cease broadcasting in around three years' time, an exact date for the shutdown has not yet been established, with Moore suggesting at this year's Edinburgh International TV Festival that the BBC is "using data to evaluate" when the decision will be made.
She added that the broadcaster needs to be "agile and fleet of foot, so we can move as audiences move".
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Referencing BBC Four and CBBC and how they appeal, respectively, to older and younger viewers, Moore said: "It's very important that we have these channels in order to be genuinely a universal broadcaster, but we are [also] using those channels at the moment to help drive audiences to iPlayer, because obviously younger audiences absolutely know how to get to iPlayer but that's not a universal experience for everybody.
"So we're using those channels very much as a way to drive and grow iPlayer."
She added that neither channels will close "until we think they don't bring value to audiences".
"At the moment, they are extremely good value," Moore insisted. "We won't close those channels until there is that tipping point. Now when that tipping point will come, when we think, 'Actually, that isn't providing value to audiences', none of us quite know, but we're using data to evaluate that all the time."
In the same session, Moore gave an update on the Doctor Who centenary special and suggested that the upcoming Waterloo Road revival would see the show "reimagined for the modern day", while Kate Phillips, Director of BBC Unscripted, addressed the decision to cancel long-running panel show Mock the Week and confirmed the broadcaster's interest in reviving reality series Survivor.
Read more coverage from the Edinburgh International TV Festival 2022:
- EastEnders future is secure despite ratings drop, says BBC boss
- Heartstopper team tease season 2 plans and talk spin-off potential
- Heartstopper boss talks why they had to change Nick's journey for TV
- Channel 4 boss on Big Brother return: 'Reviving old shows is depressing'
- Armando Iannucci dismisses Doctor Who "woke" criticism, backs "colourblind" casting
- ITV boss backs Emmerdale and Coronation Street schedule change
- ITV boss reveals why the channel is resurrecting Big Brother
- Walk the Line and The Games both cancelled at ITV
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Authors
Morgan Jeffery is the Digital Editor for Radio Times, overseeing all editorial output across the brand's digital platforms. He was previously TV Editor at Digital Spy and has featured as a TV expert on BBC Breakfast, BBC Radio 5 Live and Sky Atlantic.
