The BBC is no longer publishing financial market data on its website, app or TV red button service as part of its cost-saving drive.
The corporation said its stock market, currency and commodities data feeds were switched off on 26 November as “part of a wider effort to streamline our operations and prioritise improvements in other critical areas of the BBC Online experience”.
The BBC’s data feed was licensed from investment research firm Morningstar.
The BBC has issued a response to people who complained about the switch-off, saying it was “sorry to learn of these concerns”.
It said: “Due to ongoing budget constraints we have had to reduce the scope of some of our services. Previously we provided delayed updates on major stock prices, currencies, and commodities. However as from 26 November 2024 the BBC discontinued its market data feeds on the website (UK and international), News app and red button (UK only) services.
“This change forms part of a wider effort to streamline our operations and prioritise improvements in other critical areas of the BBC Online experience, ensuring we deliver the best possible value to our audiences.
“We will continue to deliver comprehensive coverage of significant business and economic stories on the website and other digital platforms, as well as through our TV and radio broadcasts.
“Although we no longer supply market data in this format, we believe readers can continue to access this information through various alternative sources. BBC News will continue to provide market data headlines on the News Channel and on BBC Radio 4.”
The broadcaster is currently trying to create a total of £700m in annual savings relative to 2022. Within BBC News specifically, a £24m cost-cutting drive is currently underway which includes the end to interview programme Hardtalk, tech show Click and the Asian Network’s bespoke news service.
BBC News has provided market data pages for many years. It has previously said that its 2012 transition to a new website meant these pages were “sadly left behind meaning that the service provided a very poor user experience on anything other than a desktop device, and was very difficult for the BBC to maintain or improve due to an outdated codebase”. They also suffered from “regular outages… due to the ageing of the market data hardware and software”.
The market data service then received an overhaul in 2018 so it was hosted by the Cloud, responsive to different devices and did a “better job” at providing news context for the data movements. The BBC said the changes meant “our broad audience now benefits from an improved user experience albeit covering a scaled-back amount of market data and related pages”.
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