If anything Radio 1 and 2 should be looked at for cost savings. Radio 2 in particular is just covering the same old "oldies" format that commercial stations have sorted over and over.
With all due respect, that statement is complete bollocks
If anything Radio 1 and 2 should be looked at for cost savings. Radio 2 in particular is just covering
the same old "oldies" format that commercial stations have sorted over and over.
With all due respect, that statement is complete bollocks
Agreed ... especially concerning Radio 2, which isn't just an "oldies" station these days. While it does still play mainly oldies, it does play a decent amount of current music, especially in the daytime programming.
I have noticed BBC Radio 2 being described more of an "adult contemporary" station in recent years.
Radio 1's remit is as important as ever if BBC Three closes in the new year, providing PSB for what will be an even more under served audience.
Radio 2 is a controversial one, it does play a broader amount of music than your average commercial radio station and has speech commitments such as Jeremy Vine's topical lunchtime show, but on the other hand has taken share away from commercial radio who have had to improvise by providing more closely targeted programming. R2 also enjoys near universal national FM coverage.
If Radio 2 has taken share away from a commercial radio station, then why is that the BBC's problem? Surely that's the problem for the commercial radio station to deal with, and try and get back market share. You could also then argue, or say, that it's not a level playing field, in the sense that commercial radio stations are allowed to compete with, and take market share away fro, the BBC, but the BBC isn't allowed to do that. Is that fair?
If Radio 2 has taken share away from a commercial radio station, then why is that the BBC's problem? Surely that's the problem for the commercial radio station to deal with, and try and get back market share. You could also then argue, or say, that it's not a level playing field, in the sense that commercial radio stations are allowed to compete with, and take market share away fro, the BBC, but the BBC isn't allowed to do that. Is that fair?
Spot on, nearly every other cough heart station is filled with very little chat and a tiny playlist. Yet because the BBC Is filling a voild all hell breaks lose.
I agree commercial company should be providing such mass audiences with this type of radio.
There's two issues here. BBC One competes on a par with ITV, this despite buying in commercial formats such as The Voice and creating their own formats which have helped to bring in revenue for the corporation.
Radio on the other hand is a mix of classic PSB (Radio 1Xtra, 3, 4 & 4 Extra, 6 Music, local & nations radio) and more commercially viable broadcasting. Radio 2 for example has a budget that the majority of local commercial radio would dream of having per annum. It's also fair to say that since the mid 90s, when Jim Moir replaced Frances Line as controller, the station has become younger and more mass market than before.
Only the likes of Global or Bauer could afford talent such as Chris Evans on a breakfast show. If Radio 2 was to become slightly more niche in daytime by providing a music playlist that commercial radio no longer considers being mainstream (just like 6 Music's format, which is a hybrid of GLR and Xfm) then I don't think they'd be the criticism it currently gets from some people in the industry.
I guess the ever present question is - does broadcasting exist to make profit for shareholders, or to provide a variety of services (including entertainment) to the public?
Would the listening audience be better off if Radio 2 didn't exist, particularly if it is unlikely that even without Radio 2's presence, the market would deliver an equivalent quality product?
Would the listening audience be better off if Radio 2 didn't exist, particularly if it is unlikely that even without Radio 2's presence, the market would deliver an equivalent quality product?
It'd give the smaller players in commercial radio (such as UKRD) a chance to provide a broader product to a wider audience which is commercial radio's natural target audience 25-44s.
Personally I don't want Radio 2 to close, but to have a clear public service focus, which has got muddled in the last 20 years in daytime.
Commercial radio has become a race to the bottom, a saturated market competing for a limited pot of advertising revenue.
Thus the content becomes cheaper (voice tracking, presenters who aren't allowed to do much more than read a liner then press next rather than have a personality, identikit music log with the rest of the group).
To complain because the BBC is filing the gap in the market by providing content that the punters want to listen to is a bit rich. Complain about the structure of commercial radio and how it's regulated.
Commercial radio has become a race to the bottom, a saturated market competing for a limited pot of advertising revenue.
Thus the content becomes cheaper (voice tracking, presenters who aren't allowed to do much more than read a liner then press next rather than have a personality, identikit music log with the rest of the group).
To complain because the BBC is filing the gap in the market by providing content that the punters want to listen to is a bit rich. Complain about the structure of commercial radio and how it's regulated.
Commercial radio's structure has already changed after Ofcom changed the way they can be run after recommendations by John Myers who used to work for GMG (the Guardian's broadcasting division, now sold to Global), which allows commercial stations to network more heavily and merged local licences within an approved area. The industry was at death's door a few years ago and these changes saved many stations from going off-air after the economic crisis of 2008.
Myers was also asked to look at the BBC's local radio stations where his recommendations were largely ignored, but exposed the waste of how they're operated, especially with middle managers.
If Radio 2 has taken share away from a commercial radio station, then why is that the BBC's problem? Surely that's the problem for the commercial radio station to deal with, and try and get back market share. You could also then argue, or say, that it's not a level playing field, in the sense that commercial radio stations are allowed to compete with, and take market share away fro, the BBC, but the BBC isn't allowed to do that. Is that fair?
Indeed. I don't recall reverse comments in the 70s when the commercial radio stations arrived, and in some areas totally demolished BBC radio audiences.