BBC Sport redundancies start as internal memo reveals staff concerns

Telegraph

02-05-2025

Redundancies are now under way at BBC Sport, according to an internal memo which claims nine out of 10 of the department's staff accept reform is necessary.
Alex Kay-Jelski, the corporation's director of sport, also said in an email to staff almost half have raised concerns about 'collaboration' between colleagues.
A department-wide email sent out on Friday is one of the first major updates from Kay-Jelski since March when most staff were offered voluntary redundancy.
The BBC plans to scrap 27 jobs, and Kay-Jelski now says he and bosses have 'accepted some voluntary redundancy requests' and 'are working through a few more with other interested people'.
'I can see and hear and feel how hard the uncertainty and change is for many of you,' he wrote in a department-wide email seen by Telegraph Sport. 'But we're doing it to protect ourselves and the future of the BBC and I can't think of a better reason than that.'
The email details the results of recent feedback from staff amid a period of turbulence for the department. In a summer in which Gary Lineker stands back from Match of the Day duties, the survey concluded '88 per cent of you understand why the BBC needs to transform and change and 85 per cent of you have a manager who genuinely cares about your wellbeing.'
However, the results also show 'only 40 per cent of you believe we hold ourselves and our team members accountable for results and only 56 per cent believe teams collaborate well'.
'Our changes are specifically aimed at addressing these issues and I'd hope to see these figures improve,' Kay-Jelski writes.
As well as making cuts, Kay-Jelski has brought in a number of respected figures from Fleet Street. 'We've also managed to work with some teams to change and modernise their roles so they can have an even bigger influence on BBC Sport,' he added. New jobs in the department will go live on Tuesday as part of the reforms, he said.
The changes come during a period of uncertainty affecting Britain's biggest sports broadcasters. Telegraph Sport reported on Thursday how every Sky Sports News presenter and some reporters are at risk of redundancy in another channel reboot that follows attempts to grow its Gen Z viewership.
Sky insiders say a period of consultation is part of moves to become 'more agile and better equipped to serve audiences'. Pressures on the sector are undeniable, however, as viewing habits change in the digital age.