Be Excellent To Each Other

"He will also pledge to close BBC Switch and Blast!, leaving the lucrative teenage market to ITV and Channel 4."

BBC silent over downsizing claims

The BBC has refused to comment on reports it is to close two radio stations and scale back its web presence to make £600m in savings.

BBC Asian Network and 6 Music will be closed under the proposals, according to a report in The Times.

The Times claims the measures are part of a plan, due to be made public next month, to reduce the BBC's services and focus on quality over quantity.

A spokeswoman for the corporation said she would not comment on "speculation".

The Times claims the report is currently being considered by the BBC Trust, the corporation's governing body.

It allegedly involves a wide-ranging series of cuts that will make £600m available for higher quality programming.

Savings will reportedly be made by limiting spending on rights to sporting events and reducing the money spent on imported TV shows.

The BBC Switch and Blast! websites are also to be closed as part of a larger reduction in the BBC's web presence, the newspaper alleges.

The claims follow a National Audit Office report criticising the corporation over its programme of major new building works.

The "wide-ranging strategic review" at the centre of the Times claims has reportedly been drawn up by John Tate, the BBC's director of policy and strategy.

The Times claims it is an attempt to forestall Conservative plans to scale back BBC operations should they win the general election.

It says the BBC's budget for foreign acquisitions, which currently stands at £100m, will be cut by a quarter.

This could mean the end of such US TV shows as Heroes, Mad Men and The Wire on BBC channels.

The BBC's website budget, which currently stands at £112m, will also be cut by 25 per cent.

The Times says this will be achieved by halving the number of web pages and reducing its staff by a quarter.

BBC Worldwide will be ordered to divest itself of its British magazine publishing arm, the newspaper continues.

If approved, this could see the Radio Times, Top Gear magazine and other publications put out to tender.

There are plenty of Asian-based radio stations. I've not listened to 6 music so I can't comment on that. I always assumed it was like Heart.

Speaking as someone who listens to XFM all the time on my commute, being as it's the closest thing I can find that plays the kind of music I like, am I missing out on something with 6 Music then? Is it actually, you know, good?

I find it surprising that they are seriously considering scrapping 6 music and Asian Network, on the basis of commercial competition, when these are the two radio stations with no viable commercial alternative.

And XFM doesn't count.

6 Music is never listened to by me, and yet it probably features more stuff I'd like than any other channel. Odd.

6 Music does have George Lamb, so it's (almost) worth the collateral damage to get rid of him.

You have to realise these facts:

1 - The Tories will win the next election.

2 - Their culture man is a total fucking prick cunt called Jeremy Hunt. One of the slimiest individuals I've ever met*, he's the bitch of the big media companies. When he gets in the BBC's life will become very difficult indeed.

3 - As such the BBC need to pre-empt him by chopping out the dead wood. Asian network has consistently underperformed and 6 Music is very expensive to run for such a low audience. If they don't there will be bigger cuts further down the line that won't be of the BBC's choosing.

4 - If you care, write nice letters to Jeremy Hunt. Seriously.


* I didn't actually meet Littlejohn. Just walked past him.

A friend was talking to a high-ranking Tory about the BBC. She gave him an enigmatic look and said, "You just leave the BBC to us!"

Want to know how good the BBC is? Just go abroard, or ask some foreigners about what they listen to, chances are they'll say they listen to the BBC online or the World Service, watch BBC News and download BBC programmes...and then whinge about not being able to use the iPlayer.

Isn't the BBC horrifically expensive, though?

Making television and radio programmes is horrifically expensive, though. I think in comparison with European alternatives, we are very spoilt with the BBC in terms of cost to what we actually receive.

When the Tories get in and ruin the BBC I will personally murder them all.

It costs less than Sky.

I don't mean the amount we pay, I just mean the overall cost.

The BBC still costs less than Sky. They said, on Radio 4 this morning. It was like a fact or something!

Speaking as someone who listens to XFM all the time on my commute, being as it's the closest thing I can find that plays the kind of music I like, am I missing out on something with 6 Music then? Is it actually, you know, good?

Also: How do they work out how many people are listening to / watching a particular radio / tv station?