BBC Trust

BBC Radio 1 was the BBC radio station of choice for many of the younger participants. Many of them however listened to the station as one amongst many, with a number saying that their usual practice was to flick between a number of commercial radio station and Radio 1, and to continue listening to the station playing a song that they liked.

Some participants said that they had been huge Radio 1 fans, but had stopped listening following Chris Moyles’ departure from the station.

Radio 1’s Newsbeat was a popular and important part of the Radio 1 offering, and a key source of news for many of the participants.

Mixed views were expressed on the conversations between songs, with some participants of the view that it diminished their listening enjoyment, while others enjoyed it. 

There were a small number of Radio 1Xtra listeners and its main attraction was the particular genres broadcast by the station.

BBC Radio 2 was popular with some participants, though more so amongst the college staff than the students. Some of the students said it was the default radio station in the car as they were transported to the college by parents.

Some presenters were mentioned, with Chris Evans being considered “popular with the mums”.

In the context of Radio 2, there were mixed once again on the merits or otherwise of the ‘banter’ between songs.

The main criticism of both Radio 1 and Radio 2 amongst participants was the lack of variety in the playlists of both stations, with some participants of the view that there was far too much chart music played by both stations, and that there was consequently too much repetition – “you listen to Radio 1 in the morning on the way to college, and then the same songs are played when you’re driving home in the afternoon”.

BBC Radio 3 was mentioned by a number of participants as the radio station they turned to for relaxation and enjoyed the station’s classical music output.

There were no listeners to the BBC Asian Network.

There were some fans of Radio 6 Music amongst the participants, but a consensus that it wasn’t suitable for background listening. 

Radio Cymru and Radio Wales were listened to by some participants, with positive comments about Radio Cymru’s recently launched new schedule. Participants enjoyed those programmes on Radio Cymru which played a mixture of Welsh and English songs.

DAB was appreciated, where it could be received, because the name of the song being played appeared on the screen.

The quality of the reception played a part in the listening choices made by participants, with several saying that they flicked between a range of commercial and BBC radio stations and generally continued listening to the one with the best reception.

There was some significant discussion on BBC Three since the BBC announcement that it was considering the option of making the channel accessible on-line only had been made only a few weeks before the event. While some participants were not particularly bothered at the prospect of the channel becoming accessible on-line only, others were concerned at this, and said that their ability to access it would be severely hampered. The use of comedy was considered one of the key attractions of the channel, and this was true across a variety of genres. The channel’s 60 second news updates were also widely praised as an excellent means for viewers to keep up with news headlines.

The BBC’s TV output was an important part of the viewing of many participants, with a wide variety of programmes mentioned including continuing drama such as Eastenders, drama, factual and in particular the BBC’s Natural History programmes, which were considered excellent.  However, many participants were critical of BBC Two with one voicing the views of a number when he said “BBC Two is going downhill. Now I only watch it for films.” Participants also made the point that many of the BBC One and BBC Two’s most popular programmes, such as Gavin and Stacey had first appeared on BBC Three, and this too was considered a reason for keeping it as a TV channel.

Portrayal was discussed, and the point made that there was an overuse of stereotypes, but many participants felt that this was understandable in the context of drama, since drama often required “the use of extreme stereotypes”.

The BBC’s on-line and on-demand services were appreciated, with the iPlayer being use by a number of participants to catch-up on programmes that they had missed.

Some participants said that they would love to be able to access the BBC’s Archives through the iPlayer and would happily pay for this service.

The BBC website was used by a number for research purposes as part of their studies, and the BBC News app was also used by a number of the participants on their smartphones.

The BBC’s podcasts were praised as a great way to keep up with particular areas of interest.

Spotify was used by a number of participants to create their own music playlists, with some of the view that it had led to a reduction in their radio listening, while others thought it boosted their listening since they wanted to hear the latest releases to add to their Spotify account.