BBC to cut more than 1,000 jobs

LONDON— The British Broadcasting Corp. will axe more than 1,000 jobs by merging some divisions, cutting management and simplifying areas such as marketing, human resources and IT.

The world’s biggest public broadcaster is in the midst of an overhaul to deliver more than £1.5 billion ($2.9 billion Canadian) in savings a year by 2017 by cutting staff, closing some offices and sharing sports rights.

The BBC’s funding model, which generates £3.7 billion a year by levying an annual licence fee on U.K. households with televisions, is under pressure as it prepares to negotiate with the government on a renewal of its agreement to operate, the Royal Charter, which expires in 2017.

“A simpler, leaner BBC is the right thing to do and it can also help us meet the financial challenges we face,” BBC director-general Tony Hall said in an email announcing the cuts on Thursday. He said the final decisions will be taken “in early autumn.”

The current licence fee, which has been frozen for seven years, is £145.50 for a colour TV. Income from the fee will be £150 million less in 2016-17 as fewer people watch a household TV and instead rely on online streaming services such as Netflix and content over their mobile phones.

The BBC said it had already saved money by cutting administration and property costs, with more daytime repeats and shared sports rights.

This week it confirmed plans to move the BBC Three TV channel online. Hall said the job cuts, merging divisions and cutting down management would save £50 million.