LONDON (REUTERS)

Britain's BBC public service broadcaster will cut 550 jobs, including in its news and ​content divisions, it said on Wednesday, as part of plans under new director-general Matt Brittin to save £500 million over ⁠the next three years.

The BBC is facing a ​battle to stay relevant as viewers, particularly younger ​audiences, ‌shift to streamers, and ⁠other digital ​platforms.

In March, the corporation named former Google executive Brittin as its new director general. At the time, BBC Chair Samir Shah said there ‌was a need for radical reform at ‌the publicly funded organisation, and Brittin said it faced a moment of "real risk".

The cuts to its news ​operation will include closing some long-running programmes, merging production teams across shows and a review of senior on-air roles.

The BBC, which had about 21,500 employees as of March ‌last year, said the full package ​of changes announced on Wednesday would deliver around £160 million of the £500 million target. Further savings, including cuts of around 700 corporate ​division jobs, would be ‌announced ⁠in the ‌coming months, it said.

Total ‌job losses would be around 1,800 to 2,000 over the next three ⁠years.

Brittin must negotiate a new funding settlement ​after the broadcaster's Royal Charter expires at the end of 2027. Options include retaining the licence fee paid by TV-watching households or moving to subscriptions or funding from advertising.