In common with millions of others, I am a self-confessed radio addict. I wake up to news and current affairs; I drive to the sound of magazine programmes, drama and music; I cook (a favourite hobby) to discussions, and I walk the dog to podcasts. I am a passionate follower of Six Nations Rugby, Women’s Football and Wimbledon. What better job as a BBC Trustee than to take the lead on the Trust’s cycle of health checks of Radio 4, Radio 4 Extra, BBC Radio 5 live and 5 live sports extra?
The consultation had 5,200 responses from licence fee payers and we pored through them all. We commissioned quantitative audience research, interviewed stakeholders and looked at financial and performance data. Were these valuable and much-loved radio services fulfilling their remits and satisfying the aspirations of listeners?
It will come as no surprise to loyal listeners of BBC Radio 4, BBC Radio 5 live and their sister stations that we found the services in good health (which is not the same as finding that a health check is not necessary.) Audiences, stakeholders, even rival services found the stations to be of high quality and distinctive. One female listener said “I would happily pay my full licence fee for Radio 4 alone – it’s a life enhancing station.”
BBC Radio 4’s average weekly reach is now over 10.7m and its podcasts are downloaded over 4m times weekly. BBC Radio 4 Extra now reaches 1.8m people a week despite budget cuts to original programming. BBC 5 live has had a fall in listeners, especially younger listeners, but listener satisfaction remains high at 82%. One listener said “The coverage of the events in France re. […] Charlie Hebdo […] was OUTSTANDING.”
So are there any matters of concern? The Trust expects BBC Radio 4 to protect the quality and range of those genres that are not generally offered by other UK radio stations – for example comedy and drama. After all, as we heard from a roundtable of dramatists, producers and the Society of Authors, there is no other outlet in the UK with the range of BBC Radio 4’s daily output.
We are also aware that the UK is a diverse country. Political devolution leads to different policies in the nations. There is an increase in diversity across the UK as a whole and women’s voices and interests also need to be heard more prominently. Both Radio 4 and 5 live need to reflect the richness of the mix of the UK within a cohesive whole. Of course they are aware of this need, they are respected national broadcasters. But this is a moving target in a shifting landscape.
We had some concern about listeners’ perceptions of 5 live and how this matched the reality of programming. Many people believe 5 live is a sports station. In reality, three quarters of its output is news and current affairs – in line with its service licence. So we’ve asked 5 live to look at the way it markets and promotes itself.
We agree with BBC management that the concept of "breaking news" is somewhat out-dated in these days of mobile and online news. But we also know that listeners value hugely the lighter tone of informed discussion of current affairs on 5 live, and its intimacy and friendliness. We have also moved its request for the expansion of 5 live sports extra to a formal regulatory stage, as it is one of the BBC Trust’s duties to consider who may be affected by expanding BBC services.
We also know that BBC budgets are under increasing pressure, and recently the Chancellor announced that the DWP would no longer provide BBC with the cost of free TV licences for the over 75s. So the Trust is mindful of the need for the BBC to balance serving its loyal radio listeners as well as possible, while keeping costs low
At the top of this blog I talked about walking the dog to podcasts. One of the things that this review has really brought home is how our habits have changed beyond recognition in less than a decade. Who now thinks of a world without a smartphone or an iPad or an app? Or YouTube or Spotify or Netflix? Less than a month ago BBC iPlayer Radio was re-launched, resulting in more than 1m programme downloads in its first month! The most popular content was Radio 4 drama. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the most popular hour for downloads was Sunday night at 10pm as people prepare for the weekly commute or drive or flight – or in my case all three and walking the dog!
As a result of these changes in behaviour, today the Trust has also announced that it has allowed speech programmes to be available online up to seven days in advance of broadcast. Many of these will be taster programmes, hoping to draw in listeners to services. Others will draw listeners to the new Radio App and to BBC Online.
As the Trust represents licence fee payers interests in the Charter Review, the issue of where listeners can find services becomes even more important and in our survey we want to know how you think the BBC should respond to changing media habits.
Many people aren’t aware that the licence fee also pays for radio (and online). Now’s the time to think how much your £145.50 a year pays for. Have your say on the value of radio to you and on new developments as part of the Tomorrow’s BBC consultation.
