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

[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".