Commercial radio trade body, RadioCentre, has questioned the public service value of Radio 1 and Radio 2 ahead of the BBC’s biggest ever review of its music radio stations.
The BBC Trust review will look at the BBC’s six music stations, Radio 1, Radio 2, Radio 3 and digital networks 1Xtra, 6 Music and the Asian Network.
Radio 1 has been criticised that its audience is too old given its target listenership of 15 to 29-year-olds, while Radio 3 has come under fire from its commercial rivals for aping Global Radio-owned Classic FM.
Siobhan Kenny, chief executive of RadioCentre, said: “Ahead of [the BBC’s] charter renewal, we need to focus on the size, scope and remit of some of the BBC’s most popular services, and what roles they will have in a future digital environment.
“At RadioCentre, we are particularly interested in the positioning and distinctiveness of Radios 1, 2 and 3.
“No one disputes the strength and appeal of the stations but, the question is, given the luxury of their licence-fee funded position, are they delivering real public service value across the schedule and truly giving their audiences content which cannot or could not be found elsewhere?”
The trust review, which will include a public consultation, will look at how well the stations are meeting their remit, whether they provide value for money, and how well they are supporting live and new music, and adapting to the new ways people are listening to radio in the digital era.
A separate review of the BBC’s speech radio stations will begin later this year, expected immediately after the conclusion of the music radio review.
In a sign of the growing popularity of digital radio – and the travails of Radio 3, still looking for a controller after the exit of Roger Wright – Radio 3’s audience was overtaken by 6 Music in the latest set of listening figures, published last week.
Radio 1 is looking to online video and social media to win over young audiences, potentially putting a question mark against the way it measures its listenership (and their age).
A trust review five years ago said the station had to do more to attract younger listeners, since when it has replaced breakfast presenter Chris Moyles with the more youthful Nick Grimshaw.
A spokesman for BBC radio said: “We welcome this review and, whilst we are committed to ensuring all our services are utterly distinctive and play a unique role in British culture, we look forward to hearing the public’s views on our music radio stations.”
The public consultation launched on Thursday and will run until 29 October. The review will be published early next year.
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