BBC cuts 360 jobs, budget for online division - The Associated Press

(AP) – 4 hours ago

LONDON (AP) — The BBC said Monday it plans to cut jobs, spending and the number of services in its online division.

The British Broadcasting Corporation said Monday that it plans to eliminate 360 jobs over the next two years and to trim spending by 25 percent by 2013-2014.

BBC executive Roly Keating said it would cut about half of the 400 stand-alone websites and web pages, including individual sites for programs.

Among the sites to be closed are Switch, Blast, raw and Video Nation.

The BBC says the moves are part of a drive to cut costs by 20 percent.

BBC Online services reached around 20 million people per week, the BBC Trust said in its report on the changes.

"BBC Online is a huge success, but our vast portfolio of websites means we sometimes fall short of expectation," said Mark Thompson, director general of the BBC.

Copyright © 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.