Comments on: BBC: how to save 25% by making radio better

By: Nikki Fox

Nikki Fox — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 16:46:52 +0000

Ok I have worked in commercial radio and have seen how the networking of mid morning worked. Most days it worked fine, it’s a music station not a news station and it’s not trying to be, so who cares about localness!

However, the problem comes after staffing shrinks because on most days you don’t need many local staff…then all the schools are shut because of severe snow, or there’s a very important local press conference called at the last minute. It’s very difficult to scramble all of the staff you need at the drop of a hat and quickly get presenters to stay on or on or opt back into network programming. Who are we serving? How important is localness? What would be the selling point of this new combined station?

By: Adam Bowie

Adam Bowie — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 14:27:26 +0000

With reference to James’ second point above, you could always look at page 221 of last year’s Ofcom Annual Communications report (PDF). Fig 3.34 is what you’re looking for.

The data’s a little out of date, but nonetheless…

As for merging Local with Five Live? It’d be an incredible shame. With co-location and the removal of restrictions on locally produced programming that have led to networks like Heart, Capital and Kiss, only some relatively small areas would be left with any kind of significant radio for their area.

And this at a time when the much more expensive TV is going local…

By: James Cridland

James Cridland — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 14:15:31 +0000

Richard:

1. Turning off “Parliament” on DAB would be a good way of increasing audio quality. Sadly, they missed that opportunity for Radio 4 Extra.

2. The most listened-to radio station on DAB from the BBC, as a percentage of audience? Radio 5 Live (er, I assume, cough). What do you think the second highest is? I can’t tell you that. But wouldn’t it be amusing if it was, consistently, a station always cited by audiophiles as awful quality?

3. “No-one is really buying into DAB in a big way”: rather have DAB’s audience than internet radio (which is a fifth the size)…

By: Richard

Richard — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 13:49:24 +0000

It’s amazing how these keep coming back round. I can see the logic of using of 5Live as a base for this, as it means they can turn MW off and use lovely FM for those without DAB. Effectively, it pulls 5Live as a sustainer into daytime. It cuts local radio costs (all speech? bye bye PRS) and actually solves the problem of giving local radio an identity that audiences understand. Effectively, you could mirror BBC Breakfast/News Channel on radio. Campbell and Forgarty do their bit each day, with local opts (as on TV but longer) with sport on National DAB.
The bonus is you’ve then got more cohesive reporting teams on the ground, working to one editor and one deadline. The listeners win and the BBc dodges the bullet on what to do with an AM network (if anywhere is being turned off it’s that) when FM is full and no-one is really buying into DAB in a big way.

You’d never get Radio 4 cut back – the audience are too close to the decision makers. Personally, I’d turn off Radio 3 FM. Get rid of Sports Extra and use the extra capacity to crank up the bitrate to keep the classical music buffs happy.

By: James Wickham

James Wickham — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 12:57:11 +0000

Ooh. Maybe James is incredibly prescient: From @mikebettison (Editor, R Nottingham) on Twitter: “BBC #radio #nottingham staff told today that a merger with Five Live is ‘under consideration’.”

By: Davy Sims

Davy Sims — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 14:38:20 +0000

Crazy and inspired well and poorly informed brilliant and yet just a little daft and managing at the same time to underline all the indications that London never quite ‘got’ Nations radio. An amalgamation of Radio 4 and Nations radio would be retrograde; I actually remember the pompous tones of the Northern Ireland Home Service – not unlike the proposition here.

There might be a stronger argument to amalgamate Nations and Regions radio with Radio 2.

But hold on a minute! Why’s this guy picking on Radio? Sure savings could be made, but, come on, TV is pretty crap, really (and because of constant cost cutting and over stretching hours and channels, increasingly so).

James – you know radio – you really do – but I’m not sure you have a grasp of the breath of needs and tastes of all of the whole UK audience. Just for one moment the required crash of gears moving Today into a mini-GMU is ear-boggling. On the other hand, if it got rid of that horrible, horrible news stab …

But congratulations on opening an important debate – suppose I have to follow your blog now.

By: A trawl round the net, July 2010 - James Cridland

A trawl round the net, July 2010 - James Cridland — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 19:58:08 +0000

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By: almost witty

almost witty — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 13:59:00 +0000

BBC Television follow this format already, with a national service that “opts” out occasionally for regional programming… and I doubt you’ll find anyone who says that BBC television adequately serves the local population.

But then cutbacks are cutbacks…

By: Country Boy

Country Boy — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 13:01:08 +0000

It sounds very much like the original pre World War 2 Home Service? Regional output with a core service from London.

By: Steve Paget

Steve Paget — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 15:41:29 +0000

Hmm

“You’ve created radio for West Yorkshire.”

If I know James, that bit of text dynamically changes depending on the location of the reader.

Does it, James? Does it?