The BBC’s arts network BBC Four will move away from original commissioning under plans set out in the BBC’s Annual Plan.
There had been concerns the channel might be dropped altogether.
Under the plans the BBC intends to make more commissions of scale, such as Civilisations and The Making of Us: A History of British Creativity, The Romantics and Us with Simon Schama and African Renaissance with Afua Hirsch. BBC Two will see a doubling of its arts and music spend with eight major new series launching each year. Arts content on the iPlayer will also be increased.
However, the plan means the approach will mean a move away from lower cost programmes on BBC Four, which are less effective at reaching audiences on the channel. Instead BBC Four will offer “distinctive content” from the BBC archive.
Already library content comprises 76% of BBC Four’s broadcast hours and 69% of the channel’s broadcast viewing hours.
BBC Four will continue to be the home for performance, such as the BBC Proms, BBC Young Dancer and BBC Young Musician. It will continue to showcase arts and music acquisitions will work with arts institutions such as The Lyric Theatre, Belfast; Opera North; The National Theatre Scotland and The Royal Shakespeare Company.
Additional money will be put into BBC Three as the BBC looks to better serve audiences in the 16-34 age group. This will include British drama and comedy, entertainment and events. It’s planned to relaunch BBC Three as a linear channel in 2022.
There are also improvements coming to the iPlayer as the BBC looks to make it both “culturally relevant” and more relevant to the individual.
