New BBC channel will ‘crash and burn’ staff warn after huge merger

THE new BBC news channel could "crash and burn" warn staff ahead of its huge merger.

From April the BBC News channel and BBC World News will disappear and be replaced by a new channel called BBC News combining its international and domestic offerings.

Those involved were told last week about plans to launch the channel with pilots beginning on Monday and a dry run scheduled from March 6.

But they were assured that “it won’t be a big bang moment” with “a lot of trial and error” for a few months, according to The Times.

This has prompted mixed reviews from staff at the BBC.

A senior journalist was heard saying about the new venture: "It’s going to crash and burn like Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng’s experiment."

Fears centre around the challenge of serving a domestic and world audience, raising concerns that licence fee payers will lose out.

An insider told the publication: “The resignation of Nicola Sturgeon was a huge domestic story but viewers in America are unlikely to have heard of the SNP.

"So that story seems unlikely to feature prominently on the new channel.

"There are questions about how licence fee payers will feel about paying for news about Bangladesh when they want to know what’s going on in Bristol.”

While another editor said: “People seem to be in two camps. Either they think it’s a smart way to evolve or it’s a terrible idea which will kill off the channel.”

The new channel forms part of the plan announced last year to create a modern, digital-led and streamlined organisation that drives the most value from the licence fee and delivers more for audiences.

BBC News Digital Director Naja Nielsen said: “Our aim is to create the best live and breaking video news service in the world - on our web pages, our apps, on BBC iPlayer and on our new TV news channel.

“The way audiences consume news is changing. In recent years we’ve seen a huge surge in audiences coming to our live coverage, with tens of millions following live pages when big stories and events unfold.

“As the world’s most trusted source of news, with a huge depth and breadth of expertise, the BBC is uniquely placed to offer audiences the best analysis and explanation as these stories are unfolding.

"So we are investing in new capability to cover breaking news stories, and our news channel and digital teams will work hand in hand to bring the best journalism to audiences both at home and abroad.”

The channel will be broadcast around the world, bringing the BBC’s trusted journalism to international audiences and providing licence fee payers in the UK with ad-free access to a huge range and breadth of international coverage which hasn’t previously been available to them.

It will feature new flagship programmes built around high-profile journalists, and programmes commissioned for multiple platforms.

UK viewers will receive specific content at certain times of the day, and during certain news stories.

A new live and breaking news team will provide universally available coverage of global breaking news, and – when relevant - a domestic-only stream for UK-specific news events, ensuring that audiences get the best live video coverage of the news that matters most to them.