BBC Trust

Music was the main attraction in terms of listening to the radio and the stations listened to included Capital FM, Kiss, Nation, BBC Radio 1 and 1Xtra (the latter only at home, via a DAB radio set – and some regret was expressed that the participant couldn’t get the station in the car since he didn’t have a DAB radio set there). There were no listeners to BBC Radio Wales or BBC Radio Cymru.

Some also said that they listened to Radio 2, and liked the banter and speech elements in the station’s primarily music output. As one participant said “the banter draws you in, makes you feel part of the station”. Ken Bruce was mentioned by one participant as her favourite presenter. Quizzes and competitions were one of the attractions of listening to the radio though others said that they had a radio set on all the time, just as background noise.

Music was the main attraction in terms of listening to the radio and the stations listened to included Capital FM, Kiss, Nation, BBC Radio 1 and 1Xtra (the latter only at home, via a DAB radio set – and some regret was expressed that the participant couldn’t get the station in the car since he didn’t have a DAB radio set there). There were no listeners to BBC Radio Wales or BBC Radio Cymru.

Some also said that they listened to Radio 2, and liked the banter and speech elements in the station’s primarily music output. As one participant said “the banter draws you in, makes you feel part of the station”. Ken Bruce was mentioned by one participant as her favourite presenter. Quizzes and competitions were one of the attractions of listening to the radio though others said that they had a radio set on all the time, just as background noise.

There was a wide range of views regarding news – both as a concept and in terms of the output itself. Some of the participants did their best to avoid the news since it was felt by them that it was too depressing. As one participant put it “Where ignorance is bliss – if you don’t know about what’s happening, then you can’t worry about it.”

One participant expressed the view that BBC News was “very one-sided and ignores some important news”. Another participant agreed and said that one example was the re-introduction of neonicotinoid pesticide by the UK Government and its possible impact on the already diminished bee population had not received anything like the coverage it should have done. Another participant agreed and expressed the view that BBC News “skirted around important items, and seems afraid of ruffling establishment feathers. BBC News should be impartial, and it isn’t. You don’t always get the full picture and it needs to be less afraid to tell the truth.” Others however felt that all news providers had their own ‘agenda’, but that because of its size, the BBC was under more scrutiny than most.

Another participant also criticised the BBC News coverage of the Scottish independence referendum debate and said that “it was very biased to the point of bullying the audience” into voting against the proposals, and a high proportion of those present agreed with that participant when she said the “BBC is far too closely associated with the UK Government line”. There was a near-consensus on the view that “news should be facts and figures and avoid pulling at the heart strings”.

A number of the participants used the BBC News app and in general it was considered to be very good, but some felt that the stories were sometimes treated too superficially and that greater depth would be appreciated. A number also used Facebook and Twitter as their key portal to news.

The BBC’s documentary programmes were considered very good indeed and a recent one regarding consumerism had been watched and enjoyed by a high proportion of those present. It was also felt that the BBC’s documentaries were positive in their coverage of new entrepreneurs, and that this was to be welcomed. The role of the BBC in “feeding the brain” as one participant put it, was considered extremely important.

Children’s TV was also considered to be of a high quality, and the spin-off tours by CBeebies and CBBC presenters had also been enjoyed by the children of participants.

The BBC’s increasingly swift loss of sports broadcasting rights was mourned, and concern was expressed that more and more sports rights were being  snatched up by ‘pay-to-view’ TV. Concern was also expressed regarding the possible impact this could be having on young people, who were not being exposed to sport in the way they once were and so might not be incentivised to take up sporting activities.  The BBC’s sports coverage, where it was retained, was highly praised and one participant said “The recent rugby world cup coverage on ITV was rubbish – the adverts on ITV absolutely spoiled it”.

A number of participants accessed BBC on-line and on-demand services, and increasingly via social media, particularly for news content or to follow up on particular news stories. The view was expressed however, that the BBC could do more to utilise social media to “reach audiences where they were”.

The Licence Fee, at 40p per day, was considered good value by the majority of those present, though the view was also expressed that in losing sports broadcasting rights, that value was being eroded.