BBC Director General Matt Brittin Day One On Savings & Technology
BBC Director General Matt Brittin Day One On Savings & Technology
https://deadline.com/2026/05/bbc-director-general-matt-brittin-day-one-email-staff-1236914218/
Publish Date: 2026-05-18 05:24:00
Source Domain: deadline.com
New BBC Director General Matt Brittin is not wasting any time on day one, telling staff early Monday morning that the nation’s 100-year-old public broadcaster needs to “experiment more bravely” and that he wants to “reinvent public service broadcasting for the 21st century.”
In a note to staff, seen by Deadline, the former Google EMEA chief said “we must be where audiences are, and experiment more bravely: test ideas, learn quickly and back what works.”
He also swiftly addressed the mega savings plan he is walking into that will see around 2,000 BBC staff laid off, equating to about 10%. “I know change will not be easy. Tough choices are unavoidable as we make savings,” he said.
These savings comprise one of Brittin’s three main areas of focus, he wrote, which are charter renewal, editorial excellence and “increased velocity – making the savings we must and the choices we should, simplifying the BBC for staff and audiences alike.”
“That means moving with velocity and clarity,” he said. “Excellence at the BBC has always been founded on great, creative storytelling and brilliant, independent journalism. Today it also means making sure we get the right stories in the right formats on the right platforms.”
Intriguingly, and off the back of several big BBC scandals, he noted: “I want to make sure we are always backing the right people to make decisions with clear accountability. We must never allow our duty to take risks and deliver quality to be undermined by unnecessary process or misplaced caution.”
Met by protests
Brittin was met at the front of the BBC’s New Broadcasting House HQ in London by a small group of protesters holding National Union of Journalists placards, taking umbrage with the layoffs in the BBC News division.
Matt Brittin arrives on day one at the BBC. Image: Carl Court/Getty
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