BBC to close The World Tonight on Radio 4

The World Tonight will close on BBC Radio 4 from spring 2027.

The long running late evening news programme will be replaced by Newshour, which will be moved an hour later under radio changes announced to staff as part of wider BBC savings plans.

The BBC says Newshour will cover the global agenda for both World Service and Radio 4 audiences, while continuing to include major UK news stories.

Radio 4’s Midnight News will also close from the end of this calendar year. It will be replaced by a short news summary, followed by editions of some of the BBC’s more prominent podcasts.

Changes are also planned for Today after Amol Rajan leaves the programme in September. The BBC does not plan to replace his role directly, with the programme instead moving to a rota of four permanent presenters.

The Saturday two hour edition of Today will become single headed from September.

BBC Radio 5 Live will also be affected. Weekend Breakfast is to become a two hour programme, while efficiencies are proposed in the station’s overall planning and impact team.

The radio measures form part of the BBC’s wider savings update, which includes £160 million of savings from News, Nations and Content by the end of this financial year, and a net reduction of around 550 roles.

On television, the Sunday edition of Breakfast will cease from September this year and be replaced by News Channel output.

Director General Matt Brittin told staff that reductions of this scale will mean “some compulsory redundancies”, although the BBC will work to avoid them where possible.