Ofcom has launched a consultation on a BBC request to reduce its news and current affairs commitments on BBC Radio Foyle and the BBC Asian Network.
The BBC is seeking to amend its Operating Licence to reflect programming changes it has already made, as well as planned revisions aimed at reshaping services for changing audiences.
For BBC Radio Foyle, the proposed reduction follows a restructuring of its breakfast output as part of a broader savings and reinvestment plan announced in 2022.
This included replacing the two-hour breakfast programme on BBC Radio Foyle with a new, shorter show. It initially implemented the changes in May 2023 and subsequently increased the breakfast show to one hour in January 2024.
Due to an internal calculation error, the BBC had not originally sought regulatory approval for this reduction in content.
The broadcaster is now formally asking to reduce Radio Foyle’s annual news and current affairs quota from 1,043 hours to 710 hours.
For BBC Asian Network, the corporation plans to decommission the Ankur Desai weekday show and associated programming, replacing it with a new Monday evening current affairs programme.
The changes form part of a wider effort to refocus the station for younger listeners, with a greater emphasis on new British Asian music and high-impact speech content. Newsbeat bulletins and standalone current affairs content would be increased in its place.
As a result, the BBC is requesting a cut to the Asian Network’s news quota from 1,224 hours to at least 675 hours per financial year.
Ofcom says it believes the proposed reductions would still enable the BBC to meet its remit and better reflect evolving audience habits, particularly the shift towards digital platforms among under-35s.
The regulator is inviting responses to the consultation until 26th June, with a final decision to follow later in the summer.