BBC Trust

Radio listening was still popular with a high percentage of participants, with many making reference to first thing in the morning, or while travelling by car as the main periods when they would listen. In this context, Radio Cymru, Radio Wales, Radio 1, Radio 2 and Radio 4 were mentioned, though a number of participants also said they listened to Heart FM because they “…like Jagger and Woody – they really get me going in the morning, and they play a good range of music”.

Other said that they enjoyed listening to Radio Wales and Radio Cymru because of the interviews and conversations, as well as the music. In relation to the former, Jason Mohammed and Jamie Owen were popular presenters, with Shân Cothi mentioned in relation to Radio Cymru. One participant said of Jamie Owen “I love Jamie Owen – I could listen to his voice all day” while another said of Shân Cothi “I like listening to Shân Cothi on Radio Cymru, particularly her interviews.”

Music was a key attraction of radio listening however, with a number saying that they enjoyed listening to classical as well as popular music on the radio, with the Proms and BBC Cardiff Singer of the World, on both radio and TV, having been popular features of the summer. Some specifically sought out music from particular periods or mentioned specific programmes with Owen Money’s programme on Radio Wales being mentioned more than once, and Beverley Humphreys World of Music programme on the same station also appreciated. Radio 1 and Radio 2 were also popular with some participants because of the music they broadcast. Rhod Gilbert was also a popular programme within the Radio Wales schedule for a number of participants with his mix of music, comedy and banter considered a winning combination!

Radio was also a companion to some participants, with one saying “when I go to bed of an evening I listen to Chris Needs until I nod off.” Another said “I listen a lot to Radio Wales, because of the variety of the programmes – I like having it on in the background”.

One participant said that he sometimes listened to Radio 4 while driving his car and spoke for a number when he said “On the whole, the BBC does radio better than commercial operators – the talk on the BBC is better”.

Radio was also a source of information on various matters, with sport being one key attraction. As one participant said “I’m listening to a lot of BBC Radio 5 Live at the moment, just because the Rugby World Cup is on”.

Watching TV was a common pastime with many of the participants. A wide range of genres were popular, with drama, comedy, entertainment and factual programmes coming to the fore (with nature programmes specifically mentioned in relation to the latter). Specific programmes mentioned as being enjoyed included Mrs Brown’s Boys, Strictly Come Dancing, Doctor Who, Bargain Hunt, The One Show, Countryfile, Great British Bake Off, Hinterland/Y Gwyll, BBC Four’s foreign language drama (The Killing, The Bridge, Arne Dal, Wallander, Spiral) Question Time, Poldark, Would I lie to you and the BBC’s sports programmes. One participant said of one of BBC Four’s Scandi-noir dramas “When I discovered The Killing, I watched 7 episodes in a row – until 4am. That’s not the kind of thing I normally do as a middle aged person”. The Passing Bells was also mentioned as having been a successful drama, with one participant saying “I loved that and often I watched it after broadcast. I love that the BBC iPlayer now gives you 30 days to watch things”. BBC Wales’ national programmes for Wales were also popular, with some participants still mentioning past programmes such as the three Coal House series, with one person present saying “Coal House was superb, I loved it all”.

The absences of adverts on the BBC’s output was particularly welcome when watching drama, according to a high proportion of the participants, though two participants made the contrary point – that they “would rather endure adverts than have to pay the licence fee”.

There was concern at the BBC’s proposals to make BBC Three an on-line only channel, primarily because “not everyone is on-line” but those who expressed a view also said that they were “more concerned about being able to watch individual programmes than the channel itself”.