BBC Radio 3’s weekday evening show Live in Concert is being extended to the weekends in a number of changes to the weekend schedule on the station.
The show will now take the 7:30pm till 10pm slot on Saturday and Sunday, in addition to its weekday shows.
Sunday evening programme World Routes is being cancelled, leaving World on 3 as the only world music show on the schedule, but the station says the genre will be more represented around the rest of the output.
Drama on 3 will take over World Routes’ old Sunday 10pm slot whilst the Early Music Show on Saturday and Sunday will be reduced to just one show on a Sunday at 2pm.
Radio 3 says the autumn schedule changes are in response to budget cuts at the station that were announced in 2011, following the most recent licence fee settlement.
Controller Roger Wright commented: “BBC Radio 3 brings more high quality live classical music to audiences than any other broadcaster, with over 600 complete concerts a year and every BBC Prom live.
“Although we have had to make tough decisions in order to make savings in line with the rest of the BBC, I’m pleased that we are able to offer listeners an increase in the amount of live classical music at weekends. This will broaden the access to performances from across the UK and increase Radio 3’s offer of ‘the best seat in the house’ at public concerts.
“In re-appraising the schedule we have prioritised protecting the unique range of the station’s classical, world music, jazz and arts content whilst reducing our overall output. We have had to make difficult decisions with a much reduced budget in order to ensure the best value for money for the licence fee payer and the best offering for our audience.”
In other changes, a new film music programme, Sound Of Cinema, will broadcast between 4pm and 5pm on Saturdays presented by film critic, author and presenter of Night Waves, Matthew Sweet from September 28th.
Jazz Record Requests, Alyn Shipton’s jazz listener recommendation show, will remain between 5pm and 6pm but will now be joined from 6-7.30pm, by Jazz Line-up’s focus on new and mainstream jazz artists. The programme comes forward from its previous 11pm Sunday night slot.
Geoffrey Smith’s Jazz will remain in its usual 12midnight–1am Saturday night slot and Opera On 3 will have a new Monday night slot from 7.30pm. From time-to-time Opera On 3 will also broadcast special individual live performances on Saturday nights.
Finall, Hear And Now, the programme for contemporary music, will be extended by 30 minutes to a 10pm–12midnight Saturday slot.
Posted on Friday, September 13th, 2013 at 11:13 am by RadioToday UK