BBC World Service faces funding cliff edge in seven weeks

[Hitch]

Not sure where to put this post. Mods, please move (or delete) as required. Thank you.

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2026/feb/10/bbc-world-service-funding-tim-davie

At this rate, howling at the wind will become the default replacement for BBC Radio broadcasting.

[LMcD]

Not sure where to put this post. Mods, please move (or delete) as required. Thank you.

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2026/feb/10/bbc-world-service-funding-tim-davie

At this rate, howling at the wind will become the default replacement for BBC Radio broadcasting.

Some people might think that these cuts reflect the UK's diminished reputation and influence in the world.

[vinteuil]

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... back in the day the World Service was directly funded from the Foreign Office vote, in recognition of its role as part of HMG's soft power.

I always thought it a bad move when the BBC was strong-armed into taking it on as part of its own budget during protracted financial negotiations with HM Treasury

[smittims]

Yes, like the over-75s free licence, which was originally a Government initiative to combat loneliness in elderly people . It was unfair to expect the BBC to take it on. It really wasn't their pigeon at all.

[Ein Heldenleben]

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... back in the day the World Service was directly funded from the Foreign Office vote, in recognition of its role as part of HMG's soft power.

I always thought it a bad move when the BBC was strong-armed into taking it on as part of its own budget during protracted financial negotiations with HM Treasury

Yes by George Osborne. The over-75’s were thanks to Gordon Brown though the BBC got extra money for DTT rollout.

[LMcD]

Yes, like the over-75s free licence, which was originally a Government initiative to combat loneliness in elderly people . It was unfair to expect the BBC to take it on. It really wasn't their pigeon at all.

... the Dove of Peace?

[vinteuil]

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... editorial in the Guardian -

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/feb/13/the-guardian-view-on-the-bbc-world-service-this-is-london-calling

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