Latest RAJARs

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

if like me - silence - broken on Island by the noise of the d*mn gulls - in UK regular police sirens - leave the adverts, tweets and usuall inanities to others and remember how R3 was before RW got his hands on it.

Crickey, long before that! The rot set in with Birt and Kenyon.

[Hitch]

If only the BBC could publicise and explore classical music on a television channel that broadcasts to millions of potential Radio 3 listeners. It could call the channel something like, let's see, "BBC One". An innovative broadcaster might even create another place for such whimsical projects on a sister channel. I can't think of anything more original to call it than "BBC Two". Oh, if only the BBC had the resources to help its ailing classical music radio station. It might even build on Classic FM's good work and go so far as to educate, inform and entertain its listeners.

I'm not normally this grumpy. I love the BBC. But it's been a long day.

[french frank]

If only the BBC could publicise and explore classical music on a television channel that broadcasts to millions of potential Radio 3 listeners. It could call the channel something like, let's see, "BBC One". An innovative broadcaster might even create another place for such whimsical projects on a sister channel. I can't think of anything more original to call it than "BBC Two". Oh, if only the BBC had the resources to help its ailing classical music radio station. It might even build on Classic FM's good work and go so far as to educate, inform and entertain its listeners.

I wrote to the Chairman of the BBC Classical Music Board asking why the classical pieces were removed from the Urban 'Classic' Prom before it aired on BBC Three and why the new music was edited out of the Proms that were televised and collected together in a single BBC Four programme. Unusually for Roger , he got his PA to send an email acknowledging receipt of the letter and I've heard nothing since by way of an answer.

How is this introducing new/young audiences to classical music and broader audiences to new music? On which point one might ask what the point of Doctor Who Proms is, other than to sell lots of tickets.

[french frank]

Looking in a bit more detail, most of the BBC breakfast shows seem to have dropped a bit year-on-year - except Radio 2. But Radio 3 does outstrip even Radio 1's big slump (17%).

Commenting again on that Radio 1 figure, which was seized on by the Press:

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/nick-grimshaw-sheds-one-million-breakfast-show-listeners-in-a-year-8899680.html

The key difference between that 17% drop and Radio 3's 20% drop is that Radio 1 is having by command of the Trust to narrow its audience to reduce the average age of its listeners, hence a strategy to appeal more to younger listeners and shovel off the older ones somewhere else (6 Music?). A strategic 'success'. But Radio 3 is trying to broaden its audience to bring in new listeners. So a 20% drop doesn't on the surface appear to be a success unless it too is trying to shovel its older listeners somewhere else.

[teamsaint]

so losing 800k listeners at R1 is a strategic success.

I must remember that for the next time my boss asks difficult questions about a fall in sales.

[french frank]

so losing 800k listeners at R1 is a strategic success.

I must remember that for the next time my boss asks difficult questions about a fall in sales.

I think a better analogy would be losing a couple of stones in weight after giving up cooked breakfasts

[french frank]

I wrote to the Chairman of the BBC Classical Music Board asking why the classical pieces were removed from the Urban 'Classic' Prom before it aired on BBC Three

Just found out the answer. Back in 2006 the BBC carried out some 'research' on various demographics and it discovered that the 25-34s (BBC Three's target audience) "prefer to stay away from programmes relating to religion, debate, politics and classical music". So they were clearly taking no risks by putting two three-and-a-half minute pieces of classical music in their Urban Classic Prom.

[DracoM]

The depths of their betrayal of those seeking cultural fulfillment and education knows no bounds. The very audience they say they want to ATTRACT to R3 etc, they actively exclude from accessing it in a Proms relay.

How the heck can Patten sit by and let these things happen? Does he actually KNOW what is being done in the BBC Trust's name?

[Serial_Apologist]

I wrote to the Chairman of the BBC Classical Music Board asking why the classical pieces were removed from the Urban 'Classic' Prom before it aired on BBC Three and why the new music was edited out of the Proms that were televised and collected together in a single BBC Four programme. Unusually for Roger , he got his PA to send an email acknowledging receipt of the letter and I've heard nothing since by way of an answer.

The more such stonewalling occurs, the harder to avoid concluding that those charged ('tasked') with providing answers have already concluded that the newcomers they claim to be attracting to R3 wouldn't be capable of understanding the excluded extracts from the concerts, so providing an opportunity to save time while placating the apologists of taxpayer accountability.

[Serial_Apologist]

The depths of their betrayal of those seeking cultural fulfillment and education knows no bounds. The very audience they say they want to ATTRACT to R3 etc, they actively exclude from accessing it in a Proms relay.

How the heck can Patten sit by and let these things happen? Does he actually KNOW what is being done in the BBC Trust's name?

These are very Orwellian times we live under.

[french frank]

I'll leave the honours to Russ, if he's still afoot - I'm worn out ...

[Russ]

Amidst an excellent set of overall BBC radio results for 2013 Q4, e.g. the behemoth R2's reach even higher (15.5m) and a new record for R4's reach (11.2m), R3 bucks the general trend with a very poor quarter, especially as Q4 is usually a good one for R3.

2013 Q4's reach of 1992k is 1.5% down on Q3 (itself disappointing), and the hours listened to, at 11127k, is 10.6% down on Q3. Average weekly hours per listener slumped to a near record low of 5.5, with a 20% drop in hours compared to 2012's Q4. (So much for R3's claim for its film season, which came within the 2013 Q4 window, to be a 'ratings hit'.) R3 breakfast listening rose slightly (or perhaps imperceptibly, given the sampling error) to 542k.

Although a budgetary comparison would be unfair, 6Music's reach is likely to overtake R3 next quarter.

Russ

[johnb]

An update of the chart I have been maintaining. (Please let me know if you spot anything wrong.)

[amateur51]

Many thanks Russ and johnb!

Pretty disastrous for RW I'd say and sadly for R3 - that graph really does put the boot in. I'm sure it's something that CMS Committee would value seeing

[johnb]

It is quite difficult to assess the relative "strengths" of the four quarters so this is a chart showing the average reach for each of the Jan, Mar, Sep, Dec quarters over the last five years.



It is unwise to read too much into these averages but it does seem that the December quarter is usually not particularly good.