BBC proposed cuts

[juliet]

Bah, the BBC are proposing cutting 6Music & the Asian Network (among other things). Dammit, 6Music is about the only listenable-to music station going (apart from when George Lamb's on. If they cut George Lamb I'd be cheering them all the way).

Argh. Quote from the report, courtesy of the Guardian:

With an average listener age of 37, the report said, 6 Music "competes head on for a commercially valuable audience". Closing it, and refocusing BBC Radios 1 and 2, would "recognise the lead role that commercial radio plays in serving popular music to 30- to 50-year-old audiences".

Xfm? No ta. Also, why the fuck *shouldn't* the BBC compete for a commercially valuable audience? If they're providing something that people want to listen to, surely that is precisely what they're supposed to be doing? (And then later on they talk about their commitment to "new and live music" -- isn't that something that 6Music is doing well? This seems to be decidedly incoherent!)

I am not at all sure what the argument for closing the Asian Network is. I doubt that it's a good one.

This all sounds like a reaction to the continual banging on from the Murdoch empire about how the BBC are CHEATING and providing FREE stuff (or rather, stuff that we have already paid for) thus meaning that commercial media has to either a) follow suit, or b) actually generate content that people want to pay for. Obviously they can't manage b), so they do a) and whinge about it.

38 Degrees have a petition. This is at the 'proposal' stage so public opinion is in theory being solicited.

Comments

[flick]

I am not at all sure what the argument for closing the Asian Network is.

From what I just heard on The World At One, it seems to be that actually, 'Asian' is a bloody broad brush, and the variation in the community can never be matched by the variation in the broadcasting on a single station, so it's better served by local broadcasting.

[sashajwolf]

The BBC's ability to compete with commercial organisations is highly restricted by competition law because the licence fee is a form of state subsidy and the EU Doesn't Like It, basically.

[carsmilesteve.livejournal.com]

the argument for closing the Asian Network is that it would be easier and cheaper to email podcasts to the listeners individually (something awful like <50k listeners per week on the last RAJAR figures)

...but yes, there are no commercial outlets that deliver the mix of music that 6 does and they have *almost* got rid of george lamb (shunted off to weekend breakfast) and admitted that he was a massive mistake.

given that there are only 400k of us, i'm not entirely sure we *are* a commercially valuable audience (although i haven't seen the demographics beyond age and ethnicity), BUT we're a loyal audience. if bbc radio spits us out at 25 when we're too old for radio 1 and doesn't attempt to reengage us until we're 40 and ready for radio 2, we might not come back. something will play music for us, be it spotify, last.fm or some enterprising soul who buys up all this free digital radio spectrum (<semi-joke)

[dogrando.livejournal.com]

But I like Gideon Coe mumbling dufferishly at me of an evening. Spotify doesn't do that. Bah.

I was wondering about the spectrum. How does that work, then?

[carsmilesteve.livejournal.com]

dunno, there's all that spectrum channel 4 were going to use as well, before all that went belly up...

[valkyriekaren.livejournal.com]

The thing is, Radio 6 doesn't provide 'popular music'. It provides new music that may or may not become popular.

[carsmilesteve.livejournal.com]

um, no it sort of doesn't...

by the terms of its licence 50% of output has to be over four years old and it's remit was officially:

to entertain lovers of popular music with a service offering music from the 1960s to the present day

but what it does do is play DIFFERENT new music to eg R1 and R2.

they were about to change it to:

to entertain lovers of popular music with a service that celebrates the alternative spirit in popular music from the 1960s to the present day

[steer.livejournal.com]

I guess I see XFM as just 6music with ads. Do they really play that different a playlist?

[lovingboth]

L16 listens to XFM, following me liking the mash-up show. Outside the few special shows, XFM has the shortest playlist of any station I've heard in years.

[steer.livejournal.com]

That's not an unfair comment but R6 isn't much more diverse in my experience but especially the XFM breakfast show is a bad offender... the only thing I can think of worse is Kerrang TV which is a real Groundhog day experience.

[juliet]

6M isn't that much more diverse (in the sense that it's mostly the same sort of music), sure, but you don't get the actual-same-tracks-repeating thing that I hate about XFM.

[steer.livejournal.com]

I know what you mean. Take 50 albums, play the singles from each. Repeat with "banter".

[juliet]

Whenever I've listened to XFM, I've found that their playlist is short enough that it repeats within even the hour or so that I might be listening. That gets very dull very fast.

Plus I just don't like ads, obviously :)

[steer.livejournal.com]

Neither of these comments are terribly unfair.

[beingjdc.livejournal.com]

Also, why the fuck *shouldn't* the BBC compete for a commercially valuable audience?

Could be something about the Treaty of Rome, and derogations from competition law on cultural services only seeming to get negotiated if they are convenient to France (and mess us up horribly by giving us free trade with countries that don't speak English, and trade barriers with countries that do, but never mind).

[friend-of-tofu.livejournal.com]

Those damn Communists at the Beeb have been getting away with giving people quality entertainment for too long! IT MUST STOP!

Pfft, Asians. Everyone knows they don't like radio. They only want films! (I honestly bet this argument will be raised somewhere.)

[thekumquat.livejournal.com]

What is this 6Music?

Is it one of those digital radio stations I have to turn on the telly to watch? And what does it do that Radio 2 doesn't nowadays (I still find it unnerving that whenever retuning the car radio when going up the motorway, I always end up on R2 outside London, and XFM/Virgin within it)

[juliet]

Digital radio, playing indie/alternative stuff (largely guitar-y alternative, with a few specialist shows). A bit like XFM, but significantly broader, and with much less of a playlist. If 6Music goes off-air I doubt I'll bother listening to XFM, put it that way.

[thekumquat.livejournal.com]

Will try it next time there's nowt else on the telly, then.

Although as you'll have gathered, I don't listen to radio much so have no way of listening to it outside the lounge.
Or can you get digital radio online like other internet radio?

[juliet]

Yes -- http://www.bbc.co.uk/6music/listen/online.shtml (listen live or Listen Again for a week after broadcast). Although requires RealPlayer or Windows Media, boo. Now, there's another thing they could surely save some money by not using: commercial audio products.

[hsenag.livejournal.com]

or rather, stuff that we have already paid for

I've paid for it too and I'm not very happy about it :-)

[dogrando.livejournal.com]

The Guardian has a leader about this today. Brief version (which we already knew): it's all politics, innit.