Quiz show Eggheads became “tricky” for the BBC because it had one of the oldest audiences in TV, host Jeremy Vine said.
It was announced earlier this month the long-running programme, which began in 2003, was moving to Channel 5.
The BBC said it had to make “difficult decisions in order to grow new shows”.
Vine, who has hosted Eggheads since 2008, told the Radio Times: “The good old BBC are very aware that they need to innovate constantly and bring on a younger audience.
“If you’re a successful show — which Eggheads is with over 2,000 editions — you’re always going to be vulnerable to somebody saying, ‘I think we can find something better’.
“It’s difficult being the BBC. The thing that made Eggheads tricky for them was that research showed that it had the oldest audience on British television.
“I think that plays to our favour. The older viewer is so loyal. When I ring my mum, if Eggheads is on, she’ll tell me off and hang up.”
Vine, 55, previously described Eggheads – which sees teams of contestants attempting to beat a panel of experts in a test of their general knowledge – as one of the greatest quizzes in the history of British TV.
It will move to Channel 5 later this year.
Read the full interview with Jeremy Vine in the Radio Times.