BBC Radio 5 Live Could Go Online-Only In Radical Cost Cuts

The BBC is considering making BBC Radio 5 Live online-only in "radical cost-cutting measures as it seeks to fill a funding black hole," according to Conlan & Sweney of the London GUARDIAN. The news and sport channel is the latest service to "come under review as the corporation tries to find savings to cover" the £700M ($974M) annual cost of free license fees for the over-75s by '20. Insiders suggest that the "station could even be axed," saving the BBC its £66.1M ($92M) budget. However, given its reach outside affluent, urban listeners and in the north, "such a move could prove unpopular." The spotlight has turned on Radio 5 Live because of the high cost of sports rights and "more people looking online for coverage of fixtures and news" (GUARDIAN, 2/24).