I has been announced that the children’s channel CBBC is expected to close in the next five years. Plans are to move the fan favourite to purely online.
The well-loved channel, launched in 1985, is set to close, the BBC announced today. Along with Radio 4 Extra and BBC Four, the channel will become available purely online. Additionally, the broadcasting company’s two news channels, BBC World News and BBC News, will be merged into a single channel.
Director-General, Tim Davies, has said that the £200 million cuts are part of a plan to make the BBC a more ‘digital, digital-led and streamlined organisation.’
He went on to say the BBC must ‘evolve faster, and embrace the huge shifts in the market around us’. The last decade has seen a real drive for streaming services, with Netflix and Disney+ becoming overwhelming rivals to traditional broadcasting channels.
Reactions to the news have come in quickly since the announcement, with many disappointed to see CBBC go. Some have raised the issue that the closing of the channel means many children will not have easy access to free entertainment.
Others, although disappointed, have recognised the need for the ‘digital-led’ more, with viewing habits changing since CBBC’s launch all those years ago.
Even Dick and Dom, staples of CBBC with Dick and Dom In The Bungalow and Diddy Dick and Dom, have shared their understanding of the decision.
Worryingly, the cuts could also mean up to 1,000 job losses within the publicly-funded part of the BBC. CBBC has reassured that the channel will still be around for the next three years. However, beyond that, it appears that children’s broadcasting as so many know it, will be changing for good.
This was certainly a staple of our viewing habits down the years and it is sad to think that future generations will not have easy free access to so much entertainment.