The BBC's newly appointed director-general has warned that the corporation faces "difficult choices about its size and shape" as it navigates a period of significant change.
Matt Brittin, previously a Google executive, indicated that shifts in consumer behaviour are already prompting alterations to the BBC's programming and services.
His tenure begins amidst a turbulent period for the broadcaster, which aims to cut 2,000 jobs and reduce overall costs by 10 per cent over the coming three years.
Appearing on BBC Radio 4’s The Media Show on Wednesday, he revealed he found out about the corporation’s plans to cut jobs at the same time as staff and said: “I think it’s a focusing moment for the BBC.
“But I would say, also, I don’t know a company or organisation that’s not having to make similar moves at the moment because of the uncertainty in the world.
“We’re going to have to make, as I said on Monday, some difficult choices about the size and shape of the BBC for the future.
“I think anyway, we would have to make some of those choices because of the changes in consumer behaviour.”
Mr Brittin, 57, went on to say that the BBC must “serve its content into the digital environment”, adding: “We’ve got to make some choices about how to do that. Can we do it more efficiently?”
He added: “I think people trust journalists, individuals like yourselves and others at the BBC, to be there and explain the complicated world to them.
“We’ve got to find the right way to do that to take the values that the BBC has always had and reinterpret them for the modern world.
“How do we reinvent this institution to serve in today’s moment?”
When asked by hosts Katie Razzall and Ros Atkins about the corporation shifting towards digital output, he said: “I think that is a distance away, but we will have to make choices about programmes and services for sure.
“I’m not equipped to tell you those answers, the teams have already begun working on those sorts of choices, but I think it’s also possible – the BBC has always had constrained resources but can always do more.
“It’s also possible to still aim to be the world’s best creative organisation.
“The BBC, for all its critics, is rated by audiences to be the most trusted news provider internationally and domestically, and our critics have got very loud megaphones and we should never be complacent about the quality of our output in journalism.”
Mr Brittin, who spent two decades with YouTube owner Google, added: “Ultimately it’s the consumer that is driving the choices here, and it’s for us to go where the audiences are.”
He also reflected on a recent BBC Panorama documentary which hit headlines and explored allegations of sexual misconduct on Channel 4 reality dating show Married At First Sight.
Mr Brittin said: “It is thanks to the bravery of the women there that we heard their stories, and them coming forward is important if they’re to change things for women in future.
“That’s one of the things we should be proud of – having the resources to bring these kinds of stories to light and hope to change things as a result.”
He also said he thinks the BBC is “best placed to be funded directly” as the corporation faces questions over the future of the licence fee ahead of its charter renewal.
Mr Brittin is on day three of his new role as the head of the BBC, and told The Media Show he is focused on “listening and learning” and “trying to provide some clarity in leadership”.
His predecessor Tim Davie left the corporation last month after five years in the role.
