大象传媒

The review looked at the performance of Radio 2 and 6 Music - including usage, quality, distinctiveness and value for money.

大象传媒 Trustee David Liddiment, who led the review, said:

"Radio 2 has a large audience who clearly love its output, but the review showed it must break out of the routine with its programming, in particular to be more distinctive during peak time. In contrast, 6 Music has a distinctive approach, but the review concluded that it needed to grow its audience base without losing its USP.

"We're aware of concerns about Radio 2 targeting a younger audience. The current average audience age of 50 is well within the station's target audience, but the Trust is clear that this must not fall any further, and we would like to see Radio 2 work on its appeal to over 65 year olds."

Key findings and recommendations

Radio 2

The Trust's review found that Radio 2 was popular with listeners, who believed the station was distinctive - eight out of ten felt that Radio 2 offered something that could not be easily found elsewhere. This finding was supported by analysis of Radio 2's output which found that, in a typical week, most tracks played were unique to the station. The Trust's review welcomed the lack of music overlap between Radio 2, Radio 1, 6 Music, and comparable commercial radio stations. It concluded, however, that the station should become more distinctive by adopting a more ambitious approach to non-music content in peak time.

Radio 2's remit is to appeal to all ages over 35. Its under 35 audience has grown significantly over the last 10 years, albeit from a low base, but since 2004 this growth has stabilised. Today some 82 per cent of Radio 2's listeners are over 35, and the average audience age is 50. The review concluded that Radio 2 should maintain this stability but also protect the interests of its older audiences - specifically doing more to target those over 65 years of age.

Radio 2's listeners are loyal to the station, with nearly five million listening to no other 大象传媒 radio, and around two million listening to no other radio at all. The review concluded that Radio 2 should use this scale and popularity to make a greater contribution to the 大象传媒's public purposes. The review's key recommendations were as follows:

• Radio 2 should provide the peak time audience with more content that the licence fee payer couldn't hear anywhere else. This meant, for example, refreshing comedy and arts programming and using some of this material in peak time
• As an entertainment station, Radio 2 should aim to preserve the aspects of the station which made it popular but we accept the risk that some loss of audience may be a consequence of a more varied and challenging selection of programmes
• It should also seek to address variances in reach between audience groups - for example the Trust's research showed that ethnic minorities in particular were less likely to listen
• The station should seek to promote the benefits of new technology so that hard to reach groups, such as the over 65s, did not get left behind.

6 Music

The review found that, like Radio 2, the majority of 6 Music listeners thought the station was distinctive with 82 per cent believing that it offered something that could not be found elsewhere. It found that over the last four years the station's reach had grown faster than any other 大象传媒 digital radio-only service but this growth had been from a low base. This meant that the station was still only reaching one per cent of the adult population, and this was compounded by low awareness, with just 20 per cent of the adult population aware that the station existed.

The review concluded that:

• The 大象传媒 Executive should make changes to clarify and strengthen the station's appeal, in doing so it should also seek to attract enthusiasts of alternative popular music from demographic groups which were currently less likely to listen, particularly older listeners
• It must do this without diminishing the aspects which made it distinctive, e.g. a schedule built around celebrating the alternative spirit of popular music
• The station should ensure that presenters were not only popular, but also had musical credibility, to act as trusted guides for music enthusiasts.

6 Music had an annual budget of 拢6million and the Trust expected the station to become more cost effective by growing its reach without increasing costs.

ENDS

Notes to Editors

The review began in May 2009 and included a twelve week consultation with licence fee payers. This was promoted on the services and elsewhere. The consultation received over 4700 responses from the licence fee payers and the radio industry.

The Trust also drew on a range of audience research, performance monitoring and financial analysis.