BBC director general Tony Hall has revealed plans for the corporation to launch a new tech hub in Newcastle as part of his new year address to staff.
Hall said the new hub would “help deliver a new generation of software engineers; designers; product developers and data scientists.”
He described Newcastle as a city “looking for fresh ideas, collaboration and innovation, with two highly successful universities and a digital cluster growing faster than any area outside London.”
The existing building in the city will be used for the expansion of the design and engineering teams, with staff there working on BBC iPlayer, BBC Sounds and BBC News Online.
It follows Hall’s announcement on Monday that two-thirds of the BBC’s staff will be based outside of London by 2027.
As part of his speech to staff, Hall also said the BBC plans to double its global reach this decade with the aim of reaching one billion people.
