The BBC are looking at closing 6Music and Twitter is not fucking happy. I’m not fucking happy.
Here’s the skinny.
It costs the BBC £6 million per year to run 6music. They’re targeting £600 million of savings to a £3.6 billion license fee. The station attracts on average 695,000 listeners week. The Beeb is under constant pressure to be responsible with the license fee so this represents a cut in the non essential.
The term non essential is entirely subjective though.
Actually at the moment it’s hard to see 6music as anything other than a success. The latest figures show a quarterly increase in listeners of 11.3%, and year on year up 12.3%. Beyond the numbers they’ve also adapted and evolved very well. A current impressive schedule includes Lauren Laverne, Adam and Joe, Jarvis, Guy Garvey, Shaun Keaveny and eh Lister.
You’ve got to feel for those at the station who have worked hard to achieve these results only to be told they’ll soon be out of a job.
To my uninformed peepers, it seems that it’s the technology that not being adapted. That’s the failure. Then even that’s a red herring as there’s a date of 2015 for a digital switch over. So it’s got to work. That’s what makes the axing of one of DABs success stories all the more perplexing.
Further concern for the Beeb should be who it is they are alienating here. Amongst the adjectives to describe their listeners will be: passionate, informed, opinion leading, dedicated. In other words those most likely to stir up the most shit if something goes down that they object to.
Let’s hope they do.
You wont care, I’m sure but I have featured on 6music. Well I had a text read out that I sent in response to a session by this guy. Legend (me that is)
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