BBC Six Music and Asian Network to go by 2011

[DuelingFanjo]

Arrggghhh! story

*would have, not who have... I wish this site had an edit function.

Not had chance to read all of thread but wanted to say it's outrageous that they are getting rid of 6 Music to save money for "quality" programming instead.

6 Music plays music no other station plays.
Without 6 Music, many bands wouldn't become so widely known and popular but yes, hang on, BBC3 is staying?

BBC3 - "Snog, Marry, Avoid"
Endless repeats of "2 pints of lager and a packet of crisps"
"Most Annoying People"..just a taste of their programmes.

Is the BBC really trying to tell us that BBC3 is more about "quality programming" than an original, popular and respected radio channel?

I have 6 Music streaming live from the internet all day - and will do for the next few days until they realise that there are a lot of us who listen to it who aren't the prepubescent R1 audience, but nor are we about to switch over and listen to Steve Wright in the afternoon.
The BBC should be ashamed.

I don't have a digital radio, but regularly listen to lots of 6 Music shows via podcast (and listen to xfm live). I wonder how many others there are like me who love 6 Music but don't count towards the listener figures? Surely this gives the BBC an artificially low idea of the number of listeners?

I am now tempted to get a digital radio just to listen to 6 Music live and boost the listener numbers!

I will be particularly devastated to see Adam & Joe go, but am secretly hoping that it might occur to someone at the BBC to suggest that they replace Jonathan Ross on Radio 2 on Saturday mornings?!!

I'm sure someone would pick A+J up - didn't they win a Sony Award recently? Not sure whether a musical diet of Black Flag and obscure Philly soul would go down well on R2 though!

There are two DAB radios in my house, brought purely for 6 music. I also listen to it through my Sky box quite a lot, wonder if that is ever accounted for?

How do they calculate the listener figures? Is it still random people selected to jot down what they listened too? Seems such a backwards way of doing it.

Yes chutes - it's the only exclusively-digi station I listen to as well. And I frequently listen on my laptop - don't know whether that gets counted.

Listener details are still collected by diary. Rubbish. link and another one

So all the DAB owning, Sky and online listening accounts for nothing unless you are one of the chosen few. Do RAJAR have any kind of agenda in not succumbing to exciting technological progresses by updating their data collection method?

Doubt that podcasts get inclued in the figures either. The A+J podcast is usually in the iTunes top 20.

sigh

I agree that BBC3 should have been axed. But I know that I'm along here...6 Music isn't really that unique. Sorry, but an all day playlist of Elbow, Goldfrapp and The Smiths isn't particularly groundbreaking. I agree that the night time programming is better - I particularly enjoy Stuart Maconie's Weird Zone - but it's not sufficiently different to Xfm, Absolute, Q, NME, Kerrang etc to justify being a standalone station.

Also, what are all these imports that they're no longer going to rely on? Apart from Mad Men, Damages and Heroes, I don't believe that there are any running at the moment. Certainly none at peak times. I actually think that the BBC should have MORE quality US imports. It should also make home grown shows that are as good as Mad Men, Sons Of Anarchy or The Good Wife, not yet more tired hormonal lady detective shows. And that 'comedy' about the circus? Somebody should be hanging from a lamp-post for making that.

Do you listen to 6 much in the day angelikarobinson? I would say very different to XFM and Absolute (no adverts for a start!). XFM and Absolute have very narrow playlists, little DJ freeplay and play what I would call mainstream alternative.

They will probably show me up by playing Smiths, Elbow and Goldfrap but here goes:

6 Music recently played

XFM recently played

Absolute recently played

With you on needing more US imports though. There is something about BBC drama that makes me grind my teeth with annoyance.

The significance of the no-adverts thing is often underplayed, I think. I can't bear commercial radio - the ads are so bloody intrusive.

I have sworn to never ever buy a Chevrolet after an advert for them drove me insane, years ago on XFM. I walk past a Chevy garage most days and glare at them.

It's funny, I can ignore print/muted video ads quite easily, but anything with audio on does my head in.

It's interesting that you enjoy SK because I find him similar to commercial DJs. Lovely, lovely guy who plays great music sometimes but I don't enjoy the show's vibe (which has probably been dictated to him).

I still think it would be best for 6 Music to go. I don't see why a commercial interest couldn't negotiate the rights to access all of the BBC archives. Anyone who takes it over would surely want to retain the bits that work, otherwise, they'll waste their money.

There is a huge difference between the quality of drama produced in this country and in the US, which is largely down to funding issues. Probably why it makes Chutes' teeth grind. It is not great. Yet, most people would prefer better TV output (I agree btw we should put BBC3 out of its' misery). If the figures are broadly correct, TV viewing massively outweighs 6 Music listeners. Those veiwers could legitimately question why money, that could be used to find the next Gavin and Stacey, The Office, Dr. Who etc. is being used for a 'minority' radio station.

I love my music, Radcliffe and Maconie being my favourite DJs but in the interests of fairness I think the 'silent majority' should also be considered.

I don't listen to commercial radio, Full Stop. I've tried but I just can't. I don't trust the commercial sector to be bothered about serving teh minority. Why would they?

Much as I love 6 Music and hate commercial radio, I don't think having adverts on one station actually differentiates from another. It's the content and audience served which should arguably justify keeping it alive. And in that respect I think there is a very fair case for it - note Mark Thompson did not say that 6 Music was not sufficiently distinct, what he said was that it did not merit the amount of money spent on it against its audience numbers.

And unfortunately, that dichotomy seems to be at the heart of the revised BBC strategy. I'm all for them leaving commercial businesses to target commercial audiences with commercial programming but that means, of course, that it is, well, um, commercial - i.e. makes money. If the BBC wants to step out of the commercial arena then it needs to accept that an increasing amount of programming and scheduling will be loss making, e.g. 6 Music.

The question then surely must just come down to (a) what TV and radio programming is in the public interest which is (b) not served by the commercial sector and (c) is not very heavily loss making. On those criteria, surely it makes sense to keep 6 Music?

I agree cestlavie. I don't believe the BBC is there solely to provide value for money, popularist programming for the majority. There needs to be a protected budget for the areas you suggest - in the public interest and loss making - as well as for dross like Eastenders / Casualty that get the big audiences.

And slighly off on a tangent - also I think people don't realise that the BBC is a fine training ground for sound & light technicians / engineers / journalists/ writers & many more. Training at the BBC is highly regarded and does not happen in the commercial sector - they rely on the BBC to train. So kill the license, end the BBC as Murdoch and the Tories want and quality of output across the board is going to go down (and your dramas will really suck then cissy .)

I also find it odd that Mark Thompson keeps on justifying closure on the cost of 6 Music versus audience numbers when it is floating round the internet that 6 Music costs less per listener per hour than radio 3. First source I could find via google here.

I don't agree with that logic I'm afraid. The BBC has spread itself far too thinly. The people you mention Chutes have been suffering from a lack of funding. I don't see how scrapping concerns such as 6 Music will lead to a downturn in the quality of drama output.

I'm in no way advocating the scrapping of the licence fee btw. Quite the reverse. By doing too much the BBC resembles commercial output more than ever before. It's a simple argument. Quality not quantity. Would be a shame for some things to go but that's life.