BBC Trust approves revised DQF plans

16/05/2012 - 11:48 | 21 Replies More

All BBC local radio stations will network a new all-England evening show under revised DQF plans announced today.

The BBC estimates overall 130 posts will be lost instead of the original estimate of 280 and the savings target is now 8 million pounds compared with the original of 15 million pounds.

In addition, 40 management posts will either be closed or redeployed into non-management duties.

During the evenings, opt-outs for live sport and local news will continue, and all stations will broadcast BBC Radio 5 Live overnight.

The Trust says each local station should start broadcasting at 6am, losing their early show, and the locally split breakfast programmes within Devon, Three Counties, Wiltshire and Cambridgeshire will end.

However, a new breakfast opt out of Solent for West Dorset will be created under the new plans.

The revised plans also means BBC Asian Network will stay, but with a task to reduce costs. The Trust found that Asian Network is a unique service, with a particular value placed by listeners on the station’s approach to Asian artists and new music, and the Trust has set the station a challenge to sustain these distinctive elements and recent improvements in quality while reducing its costs.

Commenting on the DQF conclusions, Lord Patten, BBC Trust Chairman, said: “This is the end of a lengthy process for the BBC, designed to ensure we can meet a tough but fair licence settlement for the next five years. Delivering the changes we have approved today will be challenging, but they are necessary.

“We’ve listened carefully to the views of those who care about the BBC, and taken our time to get this right, encouraging the Executive to amend plans where we think they need further thought, as the changes to Local Radio proposals show.

“Our focus now is to ensure that audiences notice as little change as possible to the services they know and love, and we will be monitoring audience reactions very carefully through our ongoing programme of reviews and reports.”

Mehmuda Mian, the BBC Trustee who led the reviews of Asian Network and Local Radio, added: “Local Radio provides a much-loved service. It’s a companion to many, and can be a lifeline in local emergencies. In January we asked BBC management to scale their original plans back to ensure that Local Radio retains its local character. We’re happy that the BBC’s revised proposals achieve this while recognising that it is appropriate for Local Radio to share some of the burden of savings in line with the strategy we have set.

“The Asian Network provides a unique service for an audience that is typically under-served by the BBC. Listeners value the station’s news, speech and music output; in particular its commitment to British Asian artists and new music. The challenge for the service over the next few years will be to maintain its distinctiveness.”

Written by: Roy Martin

Tags: ,

Category: Industry News

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1408735156 Rob Ellis on Facebook

    why dose that not surprise me…

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1171542961 Steve Marshall on Facebook

    More networking….same old story

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=706623830 Andy Freeman on Facebook

    who will get the gig

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=508313921 Martin Steers on Facebook

    chris moyles?

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1171542961 Steve Marshall on Facebook

    Andy now there’s a question, however Ludlow is not Brighton, so much for local radio

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1171542961 Steve Marshall on Facebook

    and the Chairman of the BBC trust is Lord(Chris) Patten

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=706623830 Andy Freeman on Facebook

    perhaps the two ladies who have just won a Sony

  • http://www.facebook.com/markgale Mark Gale

    In other words to save the Asian Network, BBC Local Radio has to suffer. Three Counties is a shadow or its former self in daytime output. Breakfast is the only show worth listening to.

  • Rita Leyland

    Local radio should not have to suffer, as it is well loved by all the listeners, and they would be sad to see any of their favourite presenters shows axed.  Local television stations are a definite “no no”

  • http://www.facebook.com/craig.butler.94 Craig Butler

    oh good does that mean we get a reduction in our license fee then??  or cant the bbc be apolished and take ads and get in the reel world!!!  after all the telegram died years ago and fm shortly …..

    • Jonathon

      This is all because the License fee has been frozen and because the BBC is taking on funding for the World Service and S4C, as well as the digital switchover, so yes you will be paying less for your license and if FM does die out then digital radio will be there to replace it.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=164616356907660 Geoff Rogers on Facebook

    This is a bad thing!

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=164616356907660 Geoff Rogers on Facebook

    But probably good for small local commercial radio stations who really do broadcast locally. eg Radio Jackie in SW London.

  • Martin_curry

    If there is going to be an all england evening show, this can not be regional or local, so they should look to emulate some of the excellent programing on BBC Scotland, BBC Wales, and BBC Northern Ireland. i.e. specialist music and documentaries.  If not , they might as well simulcast Radio 5, Radio 4 or the World Service. They have occasionally branded these stations as BBC England in the past, for election results, they will need to produce this as a strong brand.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=726526592 Peter O’Connor on Facebook

    It’s a disgrace. As a current BBC local radio presenter said on Facebook today, the BBC had local radio fosited upon it more than 40 years ago, and has always been looking for an excuse to get rid of it. Presumablyt, the new evening will be cast as BBC LoCal radio Network, or similar. Appalling. As this presenter also said earlier, Green Room facilities on most TV shows would run local radio for a year.

  • Kieran

    Why should Plymouth get their own breakfast opt out anyway?

  • Mklistener

    NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! I’m an avid listener to Morning:MK on BBC Three Counties which is set to close. I am not having that at all. How dare they close 4 excellent local shows yet still open one for a PART of Dorset. The afternoon show on Three Counties is awful and I would rather hear Sue Dougan from Radio Cambridgeshire. So that’s Helen Legh and the team gone, Wally Webb gone, Sue Marchant gone as well as many other talented presenters across the nation. And don’t get me started on this BBC Radio England thing which is only there to make use of the generic BBC local jingles the stations now use.

  • Radio Geordie

    I’m not surprised that the BBC approved the All-England programme as many of the English “Locals” broadcast regional programmes between 7pm & 1am – and even longer at the weekends.
    However, I do have to question why the 7-10pm weekday programme would become the All England programme when many would be opting out during the mid-week as the majority of them will be broadcasting football commentaries.

    As well as this, the BBC being the BBC will no doubt employ a celebrity name to present the programme.  So much for saving money.

    I have no objection to networking, but it would’ve made more sense to have two 4-hour networked programmes between 10pm and 6am every night (a time period where the audience is at its lowest).

    And why do the local services have to broadcast Radio 5 Live overnight anyway when it can be heard on both AM and DAB over 98% of England anyway.  Only the Channel Islands services should simulcast it as it is not available there (unless the AM frequencies are split to broadcast 5 Live instead).

    I also have to agree with Mr. Myers that like commercial radio, the local programmes should be between 3 – 4 hours in length.  OK, specialist programmes could get away with shorter programmes but they should be broadcast at the weekends and maybe also broadcast regionally.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000159414021 Christa Makey on Facebook

    another sad day for ‘local’ radio

  • John Nash

    The BBC are more worried of being accused of racism by not cutting back BBC ASIAN, how can they say the listeners would see or should I say hear any different in the service, they are treating us like idiots the programs would be coming from London or Salford or Birmingham , Mr patten is an old thatcher rite he was in the government of that disgusting government, so we should not be surprised at Mr Patten’s decision.

  • http://www.facebook.com/richard.harding.56 Richard Harding

    I am very sorry to hear that BBC Radio Cambridgeshire’s Peterborough Breakfast Show is to go. Peterborough as a city is very, very different in character from Cambridge. I worked for the station for a number of years and for a while at the old Hereward FM (under the name Richard West) and rate Paul Stainton highly as a broadcaster. Although I’m now based in Guernsey at Island FM, I was bought up in the county and go back there regularly as my family still live there. I’m also a keen Peterborough United fan. The city has seen the disappearace of Heart which has relocated to Cambridge, Connect is broadcasting from Kettering and the Peterborough Evening Telegraph is to go from being a daily to a weekly paper. The only ray of hope seems to be if Peterborough FM is given a community licence so Ofcom it’s over to you… 

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