National Audit Office says there is little extra left to cut behind the scenes as licence fee income falls
The BBC could be forced to replace expensive high-end dramas and natural history shows with cheaper programmes owing to government-imposed funding cuts.
The broadcaster is required to make deep and continued spending cuts due to successive Conservative governments reducing its licence fee income, according to a report by the National Audit Office. At the same time, the cost of making hit shows such as Line of Duty and David Attenborough’s nature programmes has increased rapidly, with competition from Netflix and Amazon driving up prices for talent and studio space.