Reserves at public service arm drop 66% as broadcaster undertakes large cuts in effort to save £500m.
The BBC has spent hundreds of millions of pounds of its cash reserves in a single year, increasing concerns at the corporation over the perilous state of its finances.
Cash reserves at the BBC’s public service arm slumped by 66% in the last financial year, from £369m in 2025 to just £125m, according to analysis by the Guardian.
Matt Brittin, the BBC’s director general, used an internal call with staff last week to warn that slumping cash reserves and maxed-out dividends from the corporation’s commercial operation meant there was “not a lot of elbow room for anything”.
The broadcaster is now engaging in large cuts, including up to 2,000 jobs, designed to save £500m.
BBC insiders said cash reserves were being spent to ensure the BBC could keep investing in content and make the changes needed to adapt to digital audiences.
The BBC licence fee has lost about £1.3bn in value in real terms since 2017.
Tim Davie, the BBC’s previous director general, resigned last year after criticism over a Panorama episode that spliced together parts of a Donald Trump speech. The BBC has apologised for the cut, but said it did not defame him.
The cash crunch comes at a time for Brittin, who took over from Davie in May.
Abi Watson, at Enders Analysis, said the fall in reserves was part of an underlying depletion of the BBC’s financial cushion that had been “building for years”.