The BBC has published new plans for extensions to BBC Radio 2 and BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra.
It’s planning to launch 4 new music spin offs for Radio 1, Radio 2 and Radio 3 and to extend the audience offer on Radio 5 Sports Extra.
However, when the proposals were first outlined in February, they received much criticism from the commercial sector and in July, Ofcom told the BBC to conduct a full public interest test case.
The BBC said many of the “comments and findings” from an engagement process with the audio and music industry had been incorporated into the final plans.
The proposals for the unnamed Radio 2 extension and Radio 5 Sports Extra have been “significantly redeveloped” in response to the consultation feedback from the audio industry.
“We have received a wide range of feedback and reflected much of it in our plans, including significantly redeveloping our proposal for the Radio 2 extension to increase its editorial distinctiveness. Our music extensions allow us to support new music, showcase British talent, resurface performances from the BBC’s unrivalled archive, and help audiences discover a greater breadth and range of music than what’s available on the market,” said Lorna Clarke, BBC Director of Music.
“The continued growth of commercial radio and the global streamers have shown there’s room for multiple ways to bring genres and decades to life for audiences. Our plans are unique, with context, curation and storytelling done in a way only the BBC can do, meeting the evolving expectations of audiences and providing more choice to licence fee payers.”
The revised proposal for the new Radio 2 extension includes:
– News bulletins throughout the day, totalling around 70 a week
– Commitment to playing a broader range of music from the 50s, 60s and 70s, with at least 6,000 unique tracks a year, including lesser-known album tracks
– Increased speech editorial in programmes, with speech-led content taking up most of the schedule (60%), including documentaries (about 55% music/45% speech) and highly curated programmes (about 65% music/35% speech)
– A new partnership with the BBC’s local and national radio stations, drawing on local experts and voices to tell the story of the significance of the music of their specific regions across the UK
– An increased volume of archive content, with 20% of the schedule drawing on the BBC’s unique archive of specially recorded songs, sessions and interviews
– Supporting the audio industry through plans to commission content from homegrown independent producers across the UK
This would be achieved through a 3-hour weekday archive show; an hour’s weekday legends show; and a weekday culture show for 3 hours, dedicated to new interviews with cultural figures who will relay their memories and more.
In addition to Radio 2, BBC has launched an expanded Radio 1 Dance, alongside Radio 1 Anthems and Radio 3 Unwind as music streams on BBC Sounds.
Finally, Radio 5 Sports Extra plans have been revised by reducing the hours of suggested broadcast by 30%, from 6am –10.30pm to 9am – 7pm.
This means Radio 5 Sports Extra is not on air during key hours of commercial radio in the mornings and evenings, when they reach sizeable audiences outside of live sport commentary.
The updated proposal also removes the plans to simulcast wider Radio 5 Live content on Radio 5 Sports Extra that is not live sports commentary.
It stated that these “significant changes” and the “high public value of the proposal mitigate the risk of any potential market impact.”
“Our plan for Radio 5 Sports Extra allows us to better cater to underserved audiences and help them discover more content we already make across the BBC, without any additional spend on our sports rights budget or hours of live coverage,” explained Heidi Dawson, Controller of Radio 5 Live & Radio 5 Sports Extra.
“After conducting detailed analysis and receiving feedback from the audio industry, we have significantly reduced our plans to mitigate the potential impact on the market.”
Radio 5 Sports Extra is currently a part-time station with no fixed broadcasting hours, and plays a short marketing trail on a constant loop when there are no live sports being broadcast. The proposal sets out a plan for existing BBC sports related audio content, including BBC Sounds podcasts and programming from the Nations and Regions, to be played on the station.
The plans have been approved by the BBC Board and are now being passed to Ofcom for the regulatory process to continue over the next 6-7 months.
