Petition saves BBC4

BBC4 no longer faces the axe after more people than usually watch its programmes signed a petition to save the high-brow digital channel.

However, the channel, which runs series such as Wallender (in Swedish) and The Killing (in Danish), will have its £55 million annual programming budget cut.

This year, Hattie was the channel’s most popular programme with two million viewers, followed by a This is your life programme on the Carry On star Hattie Jacques, which attracted 1.2 million viewers.

BBC4’s Glastonbury coverage was also a hit, pulling in over a million viewers. Wallander attracts between 300,000 and 600,000 viewers, while The Killing secures between 270,000 and 600,000 viewers.

The ‘Save BBC4’ campaign secured 65,000 signatures. At one point a news show on the channel picked up just 17,000 viewers.

As a result of the petition, the channel will not face closure – as was widely expected after the new BBC chairman Lord Patten announced plans to close channels to save the corporation £700 million a year until 2017 because of the licence fee freeze.

All channels are likely to see cuts, although BBC1 and BBC Radio are expected to be unaffected. The BBC’s cost-saving package will be announced next month.