BBC Online facing cuts to jobs and services

The BBC is to cut between 200 and 350 jobs as it looks to 'restructure' its online services.

One of the major changes will see a number of BBC websites replaced with 'automated' versions, including the websites of digital radio stations 1Xtra, 5 Live Sports Extra, 6 Music and Radio 7.

The corporation also announced that websites for 'the majority' of programmes would be replaced with 'automated content' whilst there will also be fewer news blogs.

It was also announced that a number of news services would be scaled-down, including a reduction in the amount of sports and showbusiness news.

Writing about the changes, the BBC stated the entertainment and arts section of the BBC News website 'will have more culture and arts coverage'. Online forums and message boards will also be cut, including the 606 community site and the BBC iPlayer message board.

Elsewhere, radio content will be disappearing from the BBC iPlayer, which will be changed to only include TV content. Online radio will focus on 'live output' with 'selected archive content' available on station websites.

The changes are a result of the corpotation having to cut its budget for BBC Online by 25 per cent by 2013. The cuts were approved by the BBC Trust in July last year and will also include the scrapping of over half of its 400 websites.

BBC director general Mark Thompson said: "BBC Online is a huge success, but our vast portfolio of websites means we sometimes fall short of expectation. A refocusing on our editorial priorities, a commitment to the highest quality standards, and a more streamlined and collegiate way of working will help us transform BBC Online for the future.

"I know that these changes will be painful for affected staff. But I firmly believe that they are right for the BBC at this time."