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Round up: Identity is the crisis can't you see?

2011-07-22T14:43:00+00:00

Bollywood Stars: BBC Asian Network's Tommy Sandhu with Bipasha Basu at IIFA

The BBC Trust is currently reviewing BBC Radio 5 Live and 5 Live Sports Extra. The period for public submissions closed recently and the Trust promises to publish its finding in "due course".

In the meantime, several trade papers are reporting on what the trade body for commercial radio, the Radiocentre, called 5 Live's "identity crisis" in their submission.

Broadcast wrote:

'Commercial radio trade body Radiocentre has accused BBC Radio 5 Live of "suffering from an identity crisis and confusion over its purpose" and called for it to stop branding itself as an entertainment station.'

Radio consultant and ex-5 Live executive Bill Rogers wrote on his blog:

'The Centre's current target is the Richard Bacon show, for doing too much "celebrity and entertainment news". I suspect the authors of this report are only recent listeners to the station, and may be quite young. It's always been there. Hark back to The Magazine, with Diana Madill. Remember Eddie Mair's jousts with Cliff Richard...'

You can download the Radiocentre's submission via Bill Roger's blog post.

You have until Sunday to catch the BBC Asian Network's coverage of the International Indian Film Academy Awards in Toronto on the BBC's Red Button digital TV services. You can also catch photos and videos on the Asian Network website now and extended video footage from this Monday. Maestro Cam and Soloist Cam also return to the Red Button for this season's Proms. More details of both items and other Red Button services here.

On the About the BBC blog the head of Audiences has written a post Measuring quality and reach at the BBC announcing the quarterly publication of audience figures related to, wait for it, quality and reach across all platforms including radio. The first report, covering January to March 2011, makes for happy reading for UK radio executives:

'Overall radio listening remains strong, not just for the BBC but for the wider radio industry. The most recent data release from RAJAR (...) relating to Q1 2011 shows radio to be in better health than ever before with 91.6 per cent of the adult population listening to a UK radio station every week (47m). 68 per cent of UK adults 15+ (35 million) consume at least 15 minutes of BBC Radio in an average week (the highest figure on record) and listeners spend over 16 and a half hours on average per week listening to BBC Radio.'

Read the rest of Measuring quality and reach at the BBC and download the report on the About the BBC blog.

Paul Murphy is the Editor of the Radio blog

The shipping forecast vs The Ashes on Radio 4 LW

2011-01-07T11:30:38+00:00

We had a long discussion yesterday, considering various tactics for avoiding a possible clash between the late night Shipping Forecast and the end of the last Test Match. Could we only carry it on FM and DAB? That wouldn't work for mariners far from land as they rely on the carrying power of Long Wave. Could we move the Forecast, holding off until the last wicket fell, whenever that might be? We do occasionally delay a forecast but this requires us to give at least 6 hours notice of its new position. It was impossible to know when the match would end and therefore impossible to schedule a delayed forecast.

What the cricket needed - but we could not provide - was flexibility: the forecast provides vital safety information and has to go out at a predictable time. After much debate we decided we had to stay with the planned schedule and hope for the best. In the event the best happened, from the point of view of English cricket, but not for Long Wave listeners who may have missed the final, euphoric moment.

The commentary team were careful to warn that the forecast was about to begin and point to opportunities to listen elsewhere. Happily, the final 90 minutes of coverage was carried uninterrupted not only on digital services but also on 5 Live, so accessible to analogue radios. We regret the heartache caused to some listeners but hope they will understand our dilemma and that their irritation will be assuaged by the joy of a historic victory.

Denis Nowlan is Station Manager at BBC Radio 4

Catch up with all of the BBC's coverage of England's Ashes victory on the BBC Sport webs site.
The TMS blog brings together posts by commentators and producers.
Head of Speech Radio Interactive Andrew Caspari wrote about TMS coverage on the Radio 4 blog in November.

Test Match Special - the best way to watch the cricket

2010-11-25T11:31:06+00:00

Of all the highs and lows of my job, visiting the Test Match Special commentary box at Lords in July last year must rank as one of my most memorable and uplifting moments. As I listened to Aggers, Blowers, CMJ and the rest of the team analyse the quality of each delivery while conveying the whole glorious mood of the occasion, from stray pigeons to the sunburnt crowd, I was struck by the preciousness of the whole enterprise.

Like many ideas that prove a triumph for radio, ball-by-ball cricket commentary was considered by many to be too slow to be a compelling proposition. Indeed, the very idea of communicating something so visual on radio was seen as largely impossible (rather like some of the initial concerns about the recent series A History of The World in 100 Objects). Segments of ball-by-ball commentary began in the mid 1930s following the launch of cricket reporting in 1927. In 1957 the first full day of cricket commentary was broadcast leading to TMS becoming fully-ingrained in English culture in a way that is perhap unparalleled in broadcasting.

This year as the first test begins in Brisbane (with a slightly wobbly English first innings), I hope that everyone with the vaguest interest in how the Strauss vs Ponting battle develops will find time to sit quietly listening to TMS. Even if you are able to watch it on television, let my offer a friendly challenge to sit listening to an hour of TMS after watching the television. I suspect that the most vivid pictures that will be created in your head by the likes of Geoff Boycott, Michael Vaughan or Ian Chappell.

Below you will find details of our coverage (including not only TMS but our excellent 5Live programming) as well as the link to a rather good Ashes archive for your to explore. Enjoy the cricket.

Tim Davie is Director of Audio & Music at the BBC

Join the discussion of The Ashes on Twitter. Follow BBC cricket people and use the hashtag #BBCAshes.
The schedule of commentaries on 5 live Sports Extra and a blog post about Radio 4's LW coverage by Andrew Caspari.
BBC Sport's Ashes archive is full of clips from television and radio coverage over the decades - going back to 1938.
The Test Match Special blog brings together posts from all of the BBC's cricket blogs.
Adam Mountford, Test Match Special producer, has written about the BBC's Ashes coverage on his blog.
The picture shows Trevor Bailey and Brian Johnston - the Test Match Commentary Team - in action at Lords in 1981.