Monday, February 28, 2022

Gone but not forgotten

 I may be the only nerd who occasionally reads the list of Senior Staff at the BBC, which is supposed to cover all those on more than £150k a year. It's backed up by a shorter list of those who have left. 

So - Dale Haddon is still billed as HR Director, News and Employee Relations. He's been on the list since 2015 (though without providing a biography), and the website notes that he's recorded no expenses or central bookings since Q4 2019/20. That could be because he left to become HR Director of the Royal Opera House in June 2020.  

Then we have Sarah Fuller, Director of Marketing & Audience [sic]; she's apparently been on the books since Q1 2019, though stopped reporting expenses in Q4 2019.  Perhaps that's because she was on a interim contract, and has been working for Nando's since March 2020. 

Perhaps somebody else could check the rest. Thomas McDonald has gone to the dark side of Studios, and no longer needs to report expenses. Alison Kirkham left in August 2020 for Apple. Where's Bal Samra ?

A longer and longer story

We mentioned BBC Storyworks last week. It's growing. Not only does the unit boast a Senior Vice President  BBC Storyworks Emea and a Vice President BBC StoryWorks EMEA, working with a Creative Director, Programme Partnerships, BBC StoryWorks and a Vice President Digital Content BBC Storyworks, it is advertising for a Managing Editor (Storyworks) BBC Global News, whose job description might seem to make those above redundant... 

 "The primary purpose of the role is to take editorial responsibility for the development and delivery of compelling, ambitious and distinctive written commercial content of the highest standard, across both the pitch and production process."

On the mark

The Damazer family got together at St Peter's Oxford last week for the unveiling of a portrait of pater familias Mark, former Master of the College, and former Controller of Radio 4.  

His children, Will and Kat were present - Kat wearing a facemask that might suggest dad is a little obsessed with the correct use of language.  I've long suspected the offspring of being less than respectful. 

Sunday, February 27, 2022

Corralled - for now

Missing from the analysis of big name BBC departures over the past year is any weight given to a feeling of being valued, and even loved.  Change at BBC News has been historically slow, with shifts of emphasis coming in a five year pattern - until the financial profligacy of James Harding, fostered by Tony Hall, found the division living way beyond its means, having to make ten years worth of savings in one. 

The re-organisation of the last year is meant to be efficient and dramatically different. However, perhaps responding more to financial calculations than thought-out strategy, its effect has been to drive away many of its most experienced and expensive staff. And that's where the embedded culture of accuracy, impartiality, and, yes, common sense resided.  The investment from the savings seems to be heading to 'digital first' operations, where old-timers think standards and 'news values' are occasionally less than rigorously observed.

The other big move - the centralisation of new coverage decisions - cf Djokovic - gives control to input, rather than output. Traditionally, output also made the big presentation decisions. But now they reside with 'News Content' (nee Newsgathering) just as much as with output. Amol Rajan wants to be Media Editor and presenter; Nick Robinson behaves as 'Political Editor Emeritus' as well as Today host; Huw Edwards gets twitchy just doing bulletins, and heads to Wales to make programmes.  A bit like the Army, the old News Management came together on a regular basis to map out the 'talents' careers, present them with engaging options 'just around the corner' and KEEP THEM HAPPY. 

Now, post-Fran Unsworth, they're in the hands of former ITN man Jonathan Munro, Keeper of the Keys to the Helicopter, who likes scoops, and EFFORT. He cuddles his staff in a monthly/weekly newsletter, so wide-ranging as to celebrate nearly every element of News Content's work. But the Big Beasts of BBC News are restless in the compound, awaiting a sense of direction from Deborah Turness - and unless she arrives soon, more will break out. 


Sun readers

The Sun on Sunday is ten years old.  The Government seems to be celebrating with them, by pushing a few ads their way for the online edition. I'd be interested to know what sort of response they get from the Civil Service job puff.... 



Saturday, February 26, 2022

Wedge

Talking about soft power and global influence, here in the UK you don't get to see all of the ways in which the BBC is wielding its highly-valued journalistic reputation. BBC StoryWorks produces paid-for content which is confined to bbc.com, and thus not available to view here. 

Thanks to Oz-based British radio guru James Cridland, I was tipped off about a new campaign by Visit Britain produced by BBC StoryWorks.  You can't see the editorial content from the UK. 

But Twitter doesn't have the same geo-location blocking options. So there's a whole stream of short videos bigging up holidays in the West Midlands. Here's one...  

Harmless ?  I'm not sure; and I'm not sure the BBC should be working with drug companies with a range of issues about product pricing; CGTN, the Chinese state broadcaster banned for a month  last year by Ofcom; Huawei; posh car makers; posh Swiss watchmakers, and more. British consumers are seeing ads for all these companies on Twitter via the BBC.    

Friday, February 25, 2022

котлета по-київськи

Which supermarket will be the first to rebrand their breadcrumbed, garlic-and-parsley-filled, chicken breasts as Chicken Kyivs ? (or 'Keeves...)



Posh parmo

Expect some more BBC investment in the north east in the weeks ahead. 

Chief Product Officer Storm Fagan is on the road, as guest speaker at a dinner in the Baltic Centre, organised by Dynamo, "an industry-led initiative with the core mission to ‘Grow the North East Tech Economy’ through collaboration and innovation. We are a voice for the sector regionally and nationally; generating ‘noise’ to promote the region as a hotspot for tech/digital business."

It's on 17th March, with tickets for 'director level and above' members only, at £108.

Investments

Tim Davie says localism and, yeh, regionalism is the way forward for news. The latest publicly shared figures for BBC Scotland show one 'News Special'  a Sturgeon coronavirus briefing, in their top 15 shows, with an average of 32,000 viewers. No other news programme was in the list, meaning they were all below 28,000.  

Instilling confidence

Tim Davie's developing 'ownership' of the title Editor-in-Chief at the BBC went out for a run round the houses, yeh, during an online, yeh, seminar this week. Give his opening remarks, yeh, a go at least. The whole thing may need watching with stimulants. 

Thursday, February 24, 2022

Swerving

The hollowing out of BBC News continues. Debbie Ramsay, a key figure in the all-new central commissioning team, is off to Channel 4.  She's a former editor of Newsbeat, moving out in July last year, so escaped the move to Birmingham. 

Canal treatment

As anticipated, Alan Yentob did manage a canal trip for the latest edition of imagine, featuring choreographer, Wayne MacGregor. 



Odds and ends

When football managers start getting votes of confidence from the board, anxiety levels are raised. One wonders how the staff of Newsnight feel after reassurances from interim director of news Jonathan Munro about the programme's future. Jake Kanter in The Times reports: Munro addressed the newsroom in an attempt to tackle the “nonsense” rumours head on. He said the show was in great form, according to sources.

Meanwhile Anita Singh in the Telegraph finds a disconsolate BBC hack "There is is a feeling: does Tim Davie really have our backs? He announces all of these things that feel like sops to the Government, whereas staff want to feel that he 100 per cent has our interests at heart. At the moment, it doesn’t feel that way.”

Over at radio HQ, Nick Robinson delivered an assured performance on Today from Kiev. The only technical hitch - a late mic for the business presenter in Salford. 

At World Service, Newsday was brought on early, to cover the launch of the Russian invasion. Many tuned in via Radio 4 could have done with more of it, perhaps evening dropping Farming Today. Do Radio 4 schedulers get up early for the start of a possible world war ?

Bi-media's back

Don't leave LBC out of the race to create 'talk tv' channels. They've decided to play new signing Andrew Marr, Monday to Thursday at 6pm, for just an hour. (It's not clear how the rest of the schedule will be re-jigged - the 6pm is currently the last hour of three from another former Beeboid, Eddie Mair). 

Andrew gets a producer with more tv experience than radio, Rob Burley, and the announcement notes the new show will be "televised live on Global Player."  Matt Harris, who left LBC for Newsnight in 2017, comes back to assist. 

The pandemic trend has been to give radio hosts longer and longer shows; this shorter commitment, therefore, is interesting. It suggests that there may be more hour-ish shows, as Global consider how to play Maitlis and Sopel in their schedules. 

Look Yonder

The BBC has turned to Yonder Consulting for its latest attempt to prove to its paymasters that it connects with younger citizens. 

A survey of just over 1,000 last week suggests half of adults are using BBC outlets first to find out what is happening in the UK and around the world, ahead of any other news source.  42% of 18 to 34 year-olds said they turned to the BBC first, over three times the percentage using Twitter. 

On specifics, like the current tensions between Russia and Ukraine – 44% said they were most likely to turn to the BBC for impartial news coverage (next nearest Sky News 11%).  The reasons behind the current rise in the cost of living – 41% chose the BBC (next nearest Sky News 10%).    The lifting of Covid restrictions – 48% chose the BBC (next nearest Sky News 10%). 

Yonder encompasses the polling skills of Populus. Co-CEO and Arsenal fan Michael Simmonds is married to Nick Gibb, former Conservative education minister and brother of BBC non-executive director Sir Robbie Gibb.  Michael is also on the panel hunting desperately for the next Chair of Ofcom.  

Wednesday, February 23, 2022

In retrospect

Imaginary extracts from Emily Maitlis' BBC exit interview. 

"I've always had full support from the brave lads at Editorial Policy"

"It's been fun working with yet another interim editor at Newsnight"

"Why would you want to do that Sunday morning show, when all the big politicians fight to be on Newsnight ?"

"That Tim Davie - quite the editor-in-chief"

"It's been grand having Newsgathering run our output. Much better than having our own staff". 

"Transparency makes sense. First my salary, then my outside gigs; was looking forward to publishing my book money".  

Morning meeting

Again, a little late for the morning meeting, but can we have an oligarch feature tonight, and not spiral down a narrow UEFA Cup final rabbit hole ?   The three oligarchs bravely fingered by the UK Government are not living in London.  They've been on the US's watchlist for some time, and may have already moved money to other family members. 

The problem with the UK's inaction so far on money made with Putin support is that much has already been re-invested away from companies that were vehicles to appropriate and exploit Russia's natural resources, and is now embedded in companies that have little to do with Vlad.  I didn't use the word 'laundered', you'll note.  So how close might Rishi and Lynne be prepared to go to what you might call the Usmanov line ?

2018-01-29 Treasury Caatsa ... by

Tuesday, February 22, 2022

Global duo

Launched on 16th October 2020 as a multi-media extravangaza, Americast's lasting success for the BBC was as a podcast. Versions were broadcast on Radio 4, BBC World News and the BBC News Channel, but the podcast went straight into BBC Sounds' top five as the US election progressed - and has maintained a strong following ever since. 

Maitlis and Sopes, as they call themselves on the series, were chums before, and there'll be a suspicion at Broadcasting House that havering at the top over future roles for the two led to an opportunist bid from radio giant Global, who presumably won't be allowed to call their version of the show by the same name. A plaintive email to staff from Interim Director of News Jonathan Munro (signed just 'J') ends: "Please join me in thanking both Emily and Jon for their many years of sterling service to the BBC and wishing them all the best for the future."

We don't know where the pair will land in the LBC schedule, but they'll be working with another former BBC colleague on podcasts.  As part of the deal, Dino Sofos, the founder of audio production company Persephonica, also joins Global as the podcast's executive producer. Sofos is the former head of BBC News Podcasts and created Brexitcast, Newscast and Americast formats.

Emily and Jon spent some time as co-presenters on the BBC News channel. Here's a pic from 2011. 











Genuine significance

Clearly there have been sufficient complaints about the Amol Rajan interview with tennis player and medical expert Novak Djokovic for the BBC to publish an all-purpose response. Only a churl would suggest that some of the complaints came from the BBC Newsroom. 

Summary of complaint

We received complaints from some viewers who felt Novak Djokovic's interview was given too much prominence and felt it is irresponsible for the BBC to provide him with a platform to air his views against the Covid vaccine.

Our response

The BBC’s exclusive interview is the first time Novak Djokovic has spoken about his position himself, and our news editors judged that the interview was of genuine significance and was of interest to our audience, particularly in light of what unfolded in the build-up of the Australian Open in January. 

Full version here.  Not long til we get an answer as to why the first moves in a possible European war ranked second to a long-heralded easing of Covid restrictions in the eyes of last night's Ten O'Clock team. 

Meanwhile Jake Kanter in The Times has been trying to find out more about how the Djokovic interview emerged.  He says that sports editor Dan Roan had already made progress with his own effort to interview Djokovic, 34, before it was offered to Rajan, the media editor. Roan had discussed the idea with IMG, the tennis player’s agent, and flew to Belgrade to negotiate access. He lost out after IMG engaged Freuds [a pr team] to place the interview. Kanter says he has three sources saying that Freuds had gift-wrapped the interview for the BBC, phoning the corporation’s news division and offering the opportunity to talk to Djokovic


Soapy

In the slippery battle of soap schedules, the BBC has finally squished its hands together, and projected EastEnders into the dish directly adjacent to Emmerdale on ITV, from March.  It knows it won't win the broadcast ratings war in that slot, but tries to point to the number of viewers that watch the unlovable Londoners on iPlayer. 

 "In 2021 the Walford based drama was streamed 285 million times as viewers have the opportunity to watch the show when and where they desire."  Spread evenly, that ought to add 1.4m to each overnight broadcast rating. Of course, streaming stats don't work like that. 




Monday, February 21, 2022

Board thinking

Bits and bobs from the BBC Board meeting held in Salford, back in November... 

With regard to property issues, the team would be working with historic building advisors, Turley, and with Westminster Council to develop plans for Maida Vale given the listing restrictions.

(As we know now, the Grade II listing has been re-confirmed, so Turley, who specialise in tricky planning permissions, will have some thinking to do. Previous projects have included the Majestic in Leeds, where C4 have taken space; Wirral Waters, brought to you by Peel who developed MediaCityUK; and Digbeth, where, spookily, Peaky Blinders' producers are building for themselves and Masterchef).

The [Remuneration] Committee had also considered a review of salary levels for on-air talent in the radio industry, although benchmarking was difficult given that commercial operators were not required to disclose salary ranges.

Chilling news for some at Radio 2

The Director, News and Current Affairs, provided an update on divisional matters and performance. Whilst share remained strong, in common with the other main broadcasters TV News reach was declining as the height of the pandemic receded, with a particular impact on the Ten O’ Clock news slot.

Don't upset Huw.

The Board received a presentation on audience attitudes to paying the licence fee and the BBC services which they valued most highly.

Hope they burned all the copies.

Directors noted and discussed the strategic rationale and objectives of the UK routes to market strategy, plans for the BBC’s owned and operated services and partnerships in 2025 and the key decisions required from the Board over the coming months.

What goes where, Britbox, iPlayer, Sounds, etc. 

Poles together

When you're short of cash, and want to get the best from 'tentpole' drama investments, it's usually a good idea to spread the tentpoles out. Piers Wenger and Charlotte Moore seem to have got in a bit of a tangle with their next big shows. 

The final series of Killing Eve, co-financed with BBC America, is going out in the States on Sunday 27th February. However, in the UK, BBC1 on Sunday 27th is committed to the launch of the final series of Peaky Blinders.  So viewers in the UK can access all of Killing Eve on iPlayer from Monday 28th (Monday 28th on BBC1 is tied up with episode 4 of 7 of This Is Going To Hurt), though there is no date yet for a full BBC1 showing. 

In the States, Peaky Blinders is 'A Netflix Original'. The US distribution rights were bought in 2013 by The Weinstein Co (remember him?), but the name was dropped from the credits in 2014. Netflix have not yet announced a release date for Series 6. 

Poo-tin or Pew-tin ?

Can we make up our mind who we're going to war on ?

From the BBC Pronunciation Unit in 2006: A frequently mispronounced name is Vladimir Putin. The stress on the first name falls on the second syllable, and there is no "pew" sound in the surname: vluh-DEE-meer POO-tin."

However, compare and contrast this piece from the New York Times' man in Paris, William Safire, back in 2005... 

"We in the English-speaking world, and in most of the Western world using the 26-letter Roman alphabet, write the Russian president's name as "Putin." That's not a good transliteration from the 32-letter modern Cyrillic alphabet, which the Russians use, because our Roman spelling suggests we pronounce it PYOO-tin, as in "putrid," or PUT-in, as in "put-down."

"We are officially informed by the Kremlin that Vladimir Putin pronounces the u in this name with neither the yew sound nor the u in put or but. If we wanted our spelling to represent accurately the sound of the way Russians pronounce the first syllable of his name, it would be POO-tin or POU-tin. Our mouthing of that last syllable would still be a little off because of what phonologists, the scientists of sounds, call "the soft t," which doesn't exist in our alphabet. The closest I can get in Roman spelling to the sound of his name in Russian would be POO-tsyin, or POO-tyeen."

Sunday, February 20, 2022

Heading east

 Some digital wires got crossed on the BBC News channel this morning, with Ben Brown branded 'Arabic'.



Unrelated pieces of output

Rosamund Urwin at The Sunday Times puts together the Novak Djokovic/Amol Rajan interview, the travails of 'We Are England', and the use of Alan Dershowitz as an independent legal expert on the conviction of Ghislaine Maxwell, into a "What is going on at the BBC?" thumbsucker. 

The BBC response: “We don’t feel that highlighting a few unrelated pieces of output from across the BBC says anything meaningful about a 24-hour worldwide news operation.

“With a 30 per cent real-terms cut in income in the last decade job losses were inevitable and we’ve been sad to see colleagues leave, but we have put new structures in place to bring the BBC closer to its audience, with talented teams across the UK delivering the stories which matter.”

Rosamund suggests that the Djokovic interview might have been secured with the help of Freud Communications. Chairman Matthew Freud has previously been on the Business Advisory Board of the ATP.  Freud Communications won a contract during lockdown to assist with 'reputation management' for the Government/Serco Test and Trace operation. 

Our Amol failed to quiz his 'mate' Novak about his 80% ownership of a Danish bio-tech firm allegedly trying to develop a treatment for Covid 19. 

Saturday, February 19, 2022

Line and length

If the papers are right, and it's an all-female shortlist to replace Andrew Marr on BBC1, then current incumbent Sophie Raworth faces quite a test tomorrow morning, with Boris Johnson as lead guest. 

Guto Harri and others will have decided that all serious and important questions can be glanced to fine leg with joyous news of the Covid All Clear. "Sophie, I've delivered, yet you bash on with these quibbles..."

Saviour of breakfast tv

Self-effacing Eamonn Holmes is featured in the Daily Mail, puffing his work at GB News with Isabel Webster. Without offering hard evidence, the piece asserts "Viewing figures for their brand of 'woke-free' news have reached a record high since Eamonn, 62, joined in January."

Friday, February 18, 2022

Brum again

Faith in Peaky Blinders is repaying the BBC is its bid to move stuff outside London. Series creator Stephen Knight plans to build studios in Adderley Street, Digbeth, where he'll make a Peaky Blinders movie. (Adderley Street is home to The Rainbow pub, where legend says the real Peaky Blinders started their violent gang life, with the murder of someone who allegedly ordered a non-alcoholic drink. It's just over a ten minute stroll to the new HS2 Curzon Street station).

The new studios will also be the new home for the Masterchef shows, in a six-year deal with Shine Banijay. 

Meanwhile Knight has also struck a deal with the BBC to produce a new version of Great Expectations. All lovely, eh ?

Oldies

How's things at Radio 4 ?  Audience research for the network shows one uncomfortable trend - a record number of listeners over 65.  The two most recent quarters of RAJAR figures show the percentage of over 65s as just above 45%, compared with an average just below 40% before the pandemic break in audience research. The target audience for the network is 35-54 (they've wisely dropped ABC1 as a a specific) but the average listener comes in at 59. 

Meanwhile Controller Mo is profferring more opportunities to indies soon, with the obit show Last Word, Any Questions, Any Answers and 'Religious Talks' going out to tender over March and April. 

A ruff life

For readers outside London, Tom Newton-Dunn has ended his stint as a columnist for the Evening Standard, as he rehearses for TalkTV. 

This, I’m sad to say, is my last column for this wonderful newspaper, at least for a while. I’m presenting the evening news programme on the new network, Talk TV, that launches very soon, and must concentrate on how on earth to be a half-decent anchorman. 

Britain’s very own Ron Burgundy, Piers Morgan, has the flagship show that follows mine. He isn’t really helping. Leaping on Downing Street’s “Operation Save Big Dog” during rehearsals, Piers has taken to calling himself “le Grand Chien” and me “le  Petit Chien”. Thank you for reading. I’ll be bark.

A rod for your own back

Would you have started from here ? The project to build a new space for the BBC's various live music requirements somewhere inside the M25 seems to make sense.  But the site at Stratford is even more 'urban' than Maida Vale; it is tall and narrow, requiring studios to sit on top of one another, and it is clear from the brief given to acoustic specialists Buro Happold, keeping the noise in general 'out', and the noise between studios minimal, will have come at a price.

"The BBC’s design brief would demand maximum use from a relatively constrained site – with a rehearsing, recording and performance venue to accommodate an audience of 300 people, two large rock and pop studios, and a further 16 acoustically isolated spaces, including recording studios, control rooms and music practising rooms. Critically, all the spaces must be capable of being used simultaneously – making this building the only one of its kind in the UK where a symphonic hall sits vertically adjacent to recording studios for rock and pop music. While the orchestra is recording a symphony on one level, a rock band could be rehearsing just below their feet. Neither must be able to hear the other.

A further complication for our teams was the presence of the estate road for the site, which runs underneath the site, taking the V10 HGV diesel engines just metres away from where highly sensitive recording is taking place. It was essential that the interiors were successfully isolated from the sounds and vibrations from the road as well as the other studios. Another unusual client request for the space was that there should be natural light in the larger studio spaces in the interests of the wellbeing of the orchestra’s musicians. This posed further challenges when it came to acoustic isolation."

Thursday, February 17, 2022

Textbook example

As external critics worry about deterioration of news values, the BBC's interim Director of News and Current Affairs, Jonathan Munro, has doubled down on the 'mega global scoop' of a tennis player repeating his position that he doesn't trust vaccinations against Covid-19, and won't have one. This is the top line of Mr Munro's latest message to staff. 

"Perhaps the highest profile BBC story was the Amol Rajan interview with Novak Djokovic. In various formats, it was viewed online 6.2 million times with the main interview article on the News site responsible for the majority. The interview ran in longer form on BBC1 reaching a further 1.4 million (that doesn’t include people watching via the iPlayer), was also a podcast on Sounds, and was broadcast on World Service Radio. The rollout from 0600 was a textbook example of formatting our journalism across all platforms, and the medical scrutiny on his views, carried on air and online, was an important part of our public purpose delivery."

Who wants it ?

The Grade II listing of the BBC's Maida Vale studios has been re-confirmed by the DCMS, making it much less attractive as a development site. 

There's no easy money to be made sticking luxury flats over and above all this, as per the terms of the listing. 

The BBC Maida Vale Studios, Delaware Road, London, are listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Architectural interest:
* for its elaborate rendered Edwardian baroque frontage and the structural shell of the 1909-1910 building, which relate to its design as the Maida Vale American Skating Palace, an exceptionally large and ambitious design produced by noted commercial architects Detmar and Gregg;
* for the studio layout and retained features from the 1934-1935 conversion and the 1952 acoustic retreatment conducted by the BBC’s Engineering Department, which demonstrate a sophisticated design for a multi-purpose recording space at a very early stage in the development of this building type;

Historic interest:
* as one of the very earliest recording studios to be established in Britain, expressly designed to house the fast-developing technology of sound recording for radio broadcast, the original five-studio configuration surviving with early fittings retained;
* as an early and important building associated with the BBC which has been integral to the Corporation’s radio output since the 1930s;
* for its important place in British musical history, as a long-established and renowned studio which since the 1930s has captured and produced seminal recordings of some of the world’s most celebrated artists and performers

THE EXTENT OF LISTING AND EXCLUSIONS

The special interest of the BBC Maida Vale Studios lies principally in the external form of the building and, internally, in the recording studios and their associated spaces rather than in the other administrative, storage and service rooms throughout the building. The ventilation block to the south and the boiler/plant extension to the north-west gable end, are excluded as outlined on the attached map showing the extent of listing.

Within the building the listing covers the main entrance area leading to the stairs down to the lower-ground studios, all parts of studios MV1-MV5 (including control rooms and storage areas set between the studios) and the associated lower-ground corridors connecting these studios. However, all other internal parts of the building, including the ground-level offices to Delaware Road, the canteen and the later-added studios MV6-MV7 are not of special interest and are specifically excluded from the listing.

To see floor plans from 1974, click here

Rock Badger

The BBC is looking for Software Engineering Team Lead.  It all seems a bit like The Masked Singer ...

Team Rock Badger supports the enrichment of content metadata through the Content Enrichment Chassis, which provides an easy way for systems that process content (audio, video and text) to better understand and classify that content using machine learning based enrichment engines. We work with many different parts of the BBC to extract more value from the content we produce and provide a richer, more relevant experience for our audiences.

At the heart of the newsroom

Imagine if you're one of the talented and experienced BBC journalists forced out of the News division by the arbitrary move of their job to a new base; by a management decision that their skills aren't up to the digital future; or, privately and never expressed, by a view that your job can be done by someone cheaper. 

Exclusive

Amol Rajan's 'mega global scoop', in the form of the half-hour special on BBC1, was watched by an average audience of 1.3m, a million lower than the preceding Holby City.  I fully expect a severe ticking off from the various Heads of Growth at BBC News, who will undoubtedly point out that by swamping the BBC News website at home and abroad for 12 hours, there were millions and millions who were told the unsurprising news that Mr Djokovic still won't get vaccinated. 

Wednesday, February 16, 2022

Fair wind ?

An entertainingly connected committee of Lords are about to consider the future funding of the BBC: 

Chair: Baroness (Tina) Stowell, created a Conservative life peer in 2010 by David Cameron, after failing to win the Conservative nomination for Bromsgrove (to Sajid Javid). Her employer at that time - the BBC, where she was Head of Corporate Affairs, under DG Mark Thompson.

Baroness (Deborah) Bull, a cross-bench life peer since 2018, and one of the first appointments made by Tony Hall when he left the BBC for the Royal Opera House, where she became Creative Director, ROH2. 

Baroness (Peta) Buscombe, a Conservative life peer since 1998, who was acting as DCMS spokesperson as the over-75 licences were dumped on the BBC. 

Baroness (Lynne) Featherstone, a Libdem life peer since 2015; as an MP in 2006, she put down an early day motion calling for women's refuge centres to be included in the same television licence fee scheme as hotels and guesthouses.

Baron (Don) Foster, a Libdem life peer since 2015; as an MP, held the DCMS brief into the coalition. He complained about Tony Hall's salary at the Opera House, in 2015.

Baron (Leslie) Griffiths, created a Labour life peer in 2005 under Tony Blair. He had to cough up when  free Over-75 licences ended, and wasn't happy. 

Baron Hall of Birkenhead, crossbench life peer appointed under Gordon Brown in 2010. 

Baroness (Dido) Harding - yes, that one. 

Baron (David) Lipsey, a Labour life peer since 1999. He told the Lords in 2015: " I sat on the Davies inquiry into the BBC licence fee in 1999 and, at the end of a year of study, probably knew as much about the licence fee as any man living. Unfortunately, like the man who once understood the Schleswig-Holstein question, I have long since forgotten all of it, save that the licence fee is a perfect way of funding the BBC but unfortunately is a poll tax that bears heavily on poor people."

Baroness (Gail) Rebuck, Labour life peer since 2014, featuring in Guardian lists of potential BBC DGs for decades. 

Baron (Ed) Vaizey, longest serving Culture Minister, now Tory peer. Rumoured to be interested in Ofcom. 





The Bishop of Worcester, Tim Davie fanboy


Baron (Tony) Young, created Labour life peer in 2004; BBC Governor from 1998 to 2002. In 2020, he lead a Lords debate thus: I hope that we never see the day when the BBC and public service broadcasting in the way we know it today—independent, wide-ranging and serving the needs of our nation—ever disappears.

Just how mega ?

For transparency, do you think we can ask BBC Media Editor Amol Rajan to share the viewing figures for his 'MEGA GLOBAL SCOOP' ?




Alyson Rudd's view in The Times:  Towards the conclusion of the BBC1 interview Amol Rajan, the BBC media editor, listed the grand slams that Djokovic is prepared to miss, on a matter of principle, and then said: “Why, Novak, why?” in a voice so plaintive, so full of pathos and incredulity that it is hard not to believe that the presenter practised this moment in front of the mirror in the aircraft toilet as he flew to Belgrade for what he called, on Twitter, a “Mega global SCOOP”.

Waterways

And the next edition of imagine features choreographer Wayne MacGregor, who is, wait for it, current Director of Dance for the Venice Biennale. One hopes Alan Yentob had time to show him the sights.  



BBC Scotland HIRING ?

One can only hope Deborah Turness gets a grip on this. 

The #metoo attitude of the BBC's Nations and Regions means they're now 'piloting' moving Scotland's army of BBC hacks into 'story teams', the solution to removing some duplication of effort already adopted by BBC News. Being Scotland, they clearly don't trust the News judgement that it works, and they're actually hiring freelance staff to take part in a three-month pilot - before cutting staff, because of the licence-fee settlement.   

Suspect Tim will be putting Rhodri on the naughty step again quite soon... 


Tuesday, February 15, 2022

Stuart pops in

The Guardian continues to make the pace on the travails of BBC1's new regional series "We Are England". After last week's pulling of an edition just before transmission, a second episode has been removed from iPlayer, after transmission.  It celebrated the work of a dance school in Cambridge called  Bodyworks, without mentioning that governors had resigned due to safeguarding concerns, and Ofsted had been told that “looking beautiful” was more valued by some staff than talent in the performing arts.

A BBC spokesperson said: “This regional programme focused on a school and its work on student wellbeing. It is no longer available to view online as the episode did not include relevant information and context about the school featured. We have also removed a related online article.”

The Guardian says Stuart Thomas, Head of the Midlands for the BBC, has now been brought in to supervise the rest of the series. One might have thought he'd been keeping an eye on them already. 

 

Re-distribution

The BBC has placed the future of its international operations in the hands of New York-based Rebecca Glashow, formerly Head of Awesomeness, a division of Viacom. 

She's leapfrogged Paul Dempsey, who, we're told ""as chosen to take up a new role as BBC Studios’ Director of Performance."  He's been full-time in New York since 2019.  Rebecca gets a seat on the BBC Studios executive board - it's not clear if Paul retains his. 

EXCLUSIVE

The first big exclusive from the interregnum of BBC News boss Jonathan Munro features tricky tennis player Novak Djokovic. Many will want to know how it was fixed - and the feelings of chunky BBC Sports Editor Dan Roan this morning. If there is still a BBC pronunciation unit, it may ask how Amol got dispensation to call him Joe-Kovich.

 

Sean

The Today Programme has opted to extend choice and diversity across BBC radio networks by sharing the services of new business presenter Sean Farrington with Radio 5Live. 

It's a return to the show for Sean, albeit from the distance of MediaCityUK; his first BBC gig was producing Today business slots in 2010.

Sean won the Junior Maths Challenge in his first year at Wolverhampton Grammar School, and went on to study maths at Christ's College, Cambridge. After five years with an investment bank, he took an MA in Broadcast Journalism at City University, before landing the BBC gig. He moved to MediaCityUK in 2011, lives in Manchester, but still has a Wolverhampton Wanderers season ticket. 


Monday, February 14, 2022

How are you doing ?

And another week passes without GB News sharing data with audience measurer BARB. No individual programme figures available since Eamonn Holmes arrived at Breakfast on January 3rd. 

Narrow channels

 ITV Studios, with the support of Samsung, is launching two new FAST channels - (Free ad-supported streaming TV). 

One's to be called Storylands - featuring non-stop European dama, produced by labels which are part of ITV Studios, including Norwegian legal series Aber Bergen; period drama Un Village Français and the  procedural crime drama from the producers of Gomorrah, called Masantonio.

The second will be a dedicated Hell's Kitchen channel, round-the-clock episodes of the US version of the Gordon Ramsay show. 

Sunday, February 13, 2022

AB positive

Listeners to two commercial radio stations may have noticed a slight change last week. Virgin Radio and Times Radio have started carrying spot ads, rather than relying on 'sponsor' notices to deliver funding. 

Both stations have been trying to lure listeners away from the BBC - Chris Evans from Radio 2, Times Radio from both Radio 4 and Radio 5 Live. It was thought repetitive commercials might drive them away. The Chris Evans show has been sponsored by Sky for three years. At Times Radio, mid-morning host Matt Chorley has read out sponsor notices from companies like NatWest and GoDaddy, as well as incessant exhortations to take up a 'first-month-free subscription' to The Times. (Spookily, Matt's website site for his stand-up tour is powered by GoDaddy). 

Radio guru Matt Deegan secured a comment from NewsUK about the change at Times Radio: Introducing spot ads on Times Radio is the next phase of our commercial strategy for the station. The ads will be limited in number, allowing premium brands to reach our AB audience, which is the highest of any commercial radio station.

Saturday, February 12, 2022

Talk getting more expensive

Job ads for staff to work on TalkTV suggest a March/April launch date; my mental calendar suggest April is still ambitious. The ads also tell us more about the shape of the schedule than News UK is disclosing more widely. They want a senior producer in charge of half-hourly bulletins (though it's not clear if they will be round the clock). There'll be a nightly 'satirical' panel show (though we're not told whether it'll land closer to The Mash Report or GB News' Headliners). And there'll be a nightly debate show. All set round the sparkling jewel of Piers Morgan.

In other ads, News UK are also looking for a 'TV Monetisation Lead'. 

Friday, February 11, 2022

Discounting ?

Filleting the Charity Commission's report on the failed charity Kids Company - a report that has taken
6 years, 5 months, 21 days to complete.  Kidsco chair Alan Yentob, 74, said the trustees were “disappointed that the commission, in criticising some decisions we took, has chosen to discount the clear findings of the High Court that completely exonerated us”.

The Inquiry has based its findings on the records that it was able to examine. Whilst the Inquiry was able to review substantial documentation, there were insufficient records for it to make findings in some areas. This is for two reasons. Firstly, some of the Charity’s records were destroyed at the time of its collapse. Secondly, it appears that some records may not have actually been created. The Inquiry accepts that when the trustees were first notified of the destruction of the Charity’s records, they gave immediate instructions for it to stop. In her Judgement, Falk J found that the destruction of the documents was contrary to the trustees’ instructions. The Inquiry notes, however, that the trustees were ultimately responsible for ensuring that the Charity made and retained proper records.

The Inquiry was told that records existed of decision making in relation to payments to clients, but it was unable to find such records amongst those that it was able to review. The Inquiry could find only limited and, in its view, insufficient records of decision making in relation to expenditure on some beneficiaries for school fees, rent and accommodation, cash payments, clothing and birthday presents. Whilst these payments would have been within the objects of the Charity the Inquiry saw insufficient evidence of how the Charity assessed the needs of individuals in relation to some of these payments.

In an interview with the Commission on 14 January 2016, the Charity’s CEO informed the Inquiry that the Charity assisted around 36,000 beneficiaries a year....  The Commission’s understanding is that the figure of 36,000 included indirect as well as direct beneficiaries, meaning that if one child in a family was assisted the other children in that family were counted as beneficiaries, and if one child in a school class was a direct beneficiary the other children in the class were counted as indirect beneficiaries. The Inquiry considers that in the interests of transparency and to avoid misconceptions, the methodology for calculating these figures should have been clearly articulated wherever they were cited, particularly in the Charity’s annual reports.

The Charity’s records seen by the Inquiry showed that between January and July 2014 the top 25 beneficiaries had spent on them a total of £311,049.99; this is an average of £1,777.43 per beneficiary per month. From the limited information that the Inquiry was able to review the Commission saw insufficient evidence of the decision making in relation to some of these payments to be satisfied that they were justified or made in the best interests of the Charity. 

If some of the trustees had more experience in the areas in which the Charity was operating, they might have been better able to perform their role as ultimate decision makers by questioning the decision making of others – e.g. the trustees might have exercised greater oversight of the clinical team’s decision making if they had had the knowledge and experience to assess its decision making more effectively. 

The Commission has had regard to the High Court Judgement and agrees with it that there was no dishonesty, bad faith, or inappropriate personal gain in the operation of the Charity.

In the Commission’s opinion, the Charity operated under a high-risk business model as illustrated by the combination of (i) heavy reliance on grants and donations, (ii) reliance on a key fundraiser (the CEO), (iii) a lack of reserves and (iv) a demand led service. The trustees were aware of these risks and continued to operate the Charity under the same model for many years, only developing a restructuring plan in the last months of the charity’s operation.


Lazarus

 "Unspun World With John Simpson" has won the coveted Wednesday-BBC2-slot after Newsnight, where in the last two weeks we've had the 1988 film Dangerous Liaisons and a Louis Theroux show. 

John's publicised the new weekly offering with an interview with The Observer, which makes it clear it's all his own idea. Natch.

You’ll be back on our screens next month presenting a new, weekly current affairs show on BBC Two called Unspun World. What can you say about it?

My plan is to have a no-nonsense, no-frills programme where we work out four or five topics a week and we’ll go to the BBC expert and get the absolutely unvarnished facts about it. What’s really, really happening, not that endless business of getting one person on one side, one person on the other, and they talk it out. I got the idea really from the Economist, those five articles at the start of the magazine: Is China going to invade Taiwan? Are we really going to have Donald Trump back as US president? Those big questions. And the great thing is that when you’re dealing with BBC people, you can get real answers out of them.

Were you surprised to get another big presenting opportunity on the BBC?

It’s really something for an organisation to take a bloke of 77 and say: “Look, here’s a train set.” I’ve got a 15-year-old son and I said to him: “God, this is fantastic. I feel like Lazarus.” And my son said: “Who does he play for?” I feel I’ve had a rebirth, certainly a resurrection.

The cost of money changing

Another Salford refusenik, and another talent lost to daft, dogmatic implementation of "Across the UK". I wonder what her mother-in-law, BBC Board member Elan Closs Stephens, thinks... 


 

Rozina

Rozina Breen is leaving BBC North (a concept, rather than a division) to become CEO of the Bureau of Investigative Journalism.

She was appointed 'Head of North' in 2019, and apparently sits on the BBC’s Content & Audio boards 'as a Senior Leader advisor'. Previously she had been head of news for Radio 5 Live, and manager of Radio Leeds. 

Posh frocks

When I read the now regular list of paid speaking engagements disclosed by BBC staff, I find myself puzzling over the minds of conference and events producers. 

What attracted private equity firm Permira to Jeremy Bowen and Lyse Doucet ?  Why did the British Council of Offices hire Justin Webb ?  What talent did Mike Bushell bring to the annual awards of the Curry Life Club ?  Why did the Tax Free World Association light upon Stephen Sackur to host their Cannes conference ?

Of course, there are some events which just require a posh frock. 






Thursday, February 10, 2022

Regional schadenfreude

"Birmingham’s self-made crypto-millionaire giving back" was a story that made a brief appearance on the BBC News website yesterday. Many would argue it wasn't really news but a 'nug' - a plug for a later broadcast, masquerading as a news item (cf The Today Programme and The One Show in general). It was supposed to drive viewers in the Midlands to the new BBC1 regional show, We Are England, with a programme about OrfanoX founder Hanad Hassan:  “Hanad was a normal 20-year-old student. He started trading crypto in the first lockdown and became a multi-millionaire in nine months. He’s now on a mission to help those in need.”

Both the story and programme were pulled. It was apparently shot in September; Mr Hassan's venture was closed down in October. 

Former BBC employees, squeezed out from 'Inside Out' days, will note that the producer is on a contract, and his previous work includes Dance Mums with Jennifer Ellison; Extreme Beauty Disasters; and My Naked Secret. 

Meanwhile, Mr Hassan, now modestly tweeting as Maestro, is still out and about...

Who's next ?

 Another Salford refusenik has to be redeployed; who will take up the slot from MediaCityUK on Monday ?


Nadine on tour

Nadine Dorries missed Culture Questions in the Commons, for a trip to Dubai. It was UK Day at their Expo 2020; Nadine cited our cultural heritage as Shakespeare and Fleabag, Ed Sheeran and the World Wide Web. She deployed the Band of the Coldstream Guards, hitting them with Land of Hope and Glory, and Colonel Bogey, in temperatures of 26c and 34% humidity. 



Samantha in the Vanguard

The arrival of Samantha Jones as the first ever Chief Operating Officer for No 10 Downing St was heralded by a mash-up of Soviet rhetoric and management speak-ak. 

"Action to accelerate the defining mission of the Prime Minister to level up the country has taken a step forward today, with the appointment of a new Permanent Secretary and Chief Operating Officer to improve the Number 10 operation."

It turns out the new Permanent Secretary is actually 'interim', signing up for just six months. 

Samantha started out as a student nurse 32 years ago, and pushed her way onto an NHS management trainee course within months. Until April last year, Samantha was CEO of Operose, operating 20 big GP practices and 26 opthalmology clinics for the NHS, mainly across the Midlands; Operose is a subsidiary of Centene, a US healthcare firm which reported revenues of $126.0 billion for the full year 2021, representing 13% growth year-on year.  From April, she became an 'Expert Advisor' to Boris Johnson. 

She can do management talk. Try some of this, from 2015. 

In 2018, the National Audit Office reported "The original intention to expand the vanguard programme was not realised because funding was reallocated to reducing trusts’ financial deficits.... Ultimately, the programme contained one wave of vanguards, rather than six waves as had been originally modelled. As a result, NHS England planned to save £360 million a year from 2020-21, rather than the £1.4 billion it had originally hoped for."



Doing without

It reads a little as if Sir Robbie Gibb was more on transmit than receive as he chaired his first BBC Boad sub-committee with the executives of BBC England - at least from the minutes of the BBC Board from October last year, just released. 

"The Chair of the England Committee reported on its most recent meeting. At what was his first meeting, the Chair had opened the session by reflecting on some of the high level recommendations arising from the Serota Review and how they might impact the work of BBC England.....

It was such an exciting full Board meeting that there was no time for the agenda item "Audience Deprivation Study"; this looks like a repeat of an exercise last carried out in 2015, with this outcome: "More than two-thirds of those originally opposed to paying the £145.50 licence fee changed their minds after being cut off from BBC services for a nine-day period, according to a study commissioned by the corporation."


Form

 If you find the rest of this, please let me know.... 



Wednesday, February 9, 2022

Dull ?

Steve Clarke, on the Royal Television Society, ruminates on the appointment of Deborah Turness at BBC News. 

He quotes a former colleague "This is a very Tim Davie appointment. She’s been hired to shake up BBC News, which, despite its deserved global reputation for being accurate and impartial, is at times guilty of being a bit dull.”

And a UK news chief "The job is a poisoned chalice, but she survived and thrived at NBC, so I suspect she feels she can take in her stride every­thing that the BBC can throw at her."

A former colleague on her time at NBC “Deborah was a ball of energy, and there were parts of NBC that had an allergic reaction to it. The Brian Williams crisis didn’t help, although it was nothing to do with her.”


The neck of it

There's a new photo of BBC Director General Tim Davie on the BBC Board webpage. My quad shows the abandonment of the tie (2019 to 2020, top row) as CEO BBC Studios, and the arrival of boardroom leisurewear, accompanied by the end of the smile (2021 to 2022, bottom row).



Tuesday, February 8, 2022

Spicy

The Mail has shots of Martin Bashir and Alec Baldwin enjoying a curry in Alton, near Winchester. Mr Baldwin is making a film nearby, Bashir lives in Winchester. The pair last worked together at MSNBC, in 2013, when off-colour remarks, inside and outside the tv studio, got both fired. Their parent company at the time, was NBC, where served Deborah Turness as President of News. 

Perhaps she could have provided a reference for Bashir, when former ITN colleague Jonathan Munro promoted his cause as BBC Religion correspondent and editor... 

Monday, February 7, 2022

Henry goes back to Gove

Henry Newman, a noted carrier of the dog Dilyn, custodian of the ABBA playlists and semi-pro ballroom dancer, is leaving his role at No 10, to rejoin Michael Gove at Levelling Up.

Inexplicably, the Conservatives of Mid-Sussex rejected the Oxford, Harvard and LSE polymath as their candidate in the 2019 General Election, in favour of Mims Davies; he'd previously stood in North Tyneside. Still he has his position as a Camden councillor to keep him interest in front line politics, and his specialist subjects, Iran and anti-semitism in the Labour Party: 

"For the last ten years, my partner and I have lived in Hampstead. We love it. I’m from something of a mixed family: one grandmother was an Istanbul-born Greek, the other a German Jew who fled the Nazis eventually training as a doctor at the Royal Free.

"I’m passionate about protecting our local area and its unique heritage. I’m a keen runner and want to fight pollution and tackle gridlocked roads, such as Fitzjohn’s Avenue and Arkwright Road.

"I’ve been a persistent campaigner to restore weekly bin collections and address the rise in littering and fly-tipping. And as a victim of a moped snatching myself, I know how much we need more police.

"I’m the director of a think tank [Open Europe, now closed], and I previously worked in the Civil Service on government efficiency and prison reform. Before that, I taught politics and history at various universities. I hope to bring some of that experience and passion for reform to Camden Council."

In recent key elections, Mr Newman has been out on the stump campaigning for Shaun Bailey and Zac Goldsmith. 


No application form

Outgoing ITN CEO Deborah Turness, still apparently detained at her current employer's pleasure, says her impending move to W1A "is the hardest decision I've made in my career. I've wrestled with it. I felt deeply conflicted about which way to go. Every fibre of me is ITN". 

She reveals she didn't ever apply for the job, and turned down invitations twice. She said yes when they came back a third time, with a new remit and an enhanced title.

"I'm passionate about brands, innovation and adapting journalism to meet new consumer demands. I'm being given the opportunity to do that change with the biggest broadcasting operation in the world".

On re-joining a man she once left behind at ITN, Jonathan Munro, she says "I am really looking forward to working with him again. We worked very well. We have already spoken to each other".

Sunday, February 6, 2022

Al's back

When one door shuts.... 

With the move of BBC3 output to BBC3, BBC1 has some late evening holes, and Alan Yentob has stepped forward to fill one of them. 

Monday sees the first new edition of imagine... since September last year, and features Irish author Marian Keyes. We're told it's the first of a new series, with a interview with Labi Siffre to come the following Monday; he has a new album, which has beguiled Series Editor Al to visit the singer-songwriter in Spain.  


Friday, February 4, 2022

Elena's out

Elena Narozanski, 36, is the latest to leave the Policy Unit at No 10. At Cambridge University she was entertainments officer at the Union, and heavily involved in women's football. Her political career proper started in the Conservative Research Department, working under David Willetts on Universities and Skills, and then on Children and Schools under Michael Gove in the run up to the 2010 General Election. She helped launch Gove's education reforms working as a speechwriter in the Coalition, copied into emails from Dominic Cummings as Elena Narozanski-Efthimiopoulou. Then she advised Theresa May in her role as Women and Equalities Minister and at the Home Office, In 2012 she was appointed via an agency to head up New Schools for London at the Greater London Authority, when Boris Johnson was still Mayor, advised by Munira Mirza. 

In 2015 she captained the Islington Boxing Club girls team, competing international level in the elite class B Under-69kg category; she also represented Belgrave Ladies in shot and discus. In 2018, she got to the final of the English Women’s National Championships 1st place, 75kg category, losing out to Kerry Davis. 

In the Vote Leave team under Dominic Cummings, she was in charge of 'Cabinet Liaison'. After that, a spell as a lobbyist for Public First before joining Number Ten. 

In March last year, she became a director of The Football Foundation. In May she was a guest of the Premier League at the Brit Awards, and a guest of Chelsea FC; in June she had tickets from the FA and the Lawn Tennis Association. In late September, Elena scored 6 runs in a cricket match at Goodwood, giving a team of political PRs, Lords, MPs and advisors victory over a Lobby XI. 



Changes to the Barnett formula

Emma Barnett is dropping her occasional days presenting Newsnight, with 'other projects in the pipeline'. She'll continue with Woman's Hour, and her new show on Bloomberg, Emma Barnett Meets, where she's already interviewed Ai Wei Wei, Al Sharpton, Helle Thorning-Schmidt and Elif Shafak. 

A new editor for Newsnight, to replace Esme Wren, has yet to be announced. 

Meanwhile, the BBC is advertising for more journalists to work on BBC World News; odd workforce planning, considering the numbers of well-qualified staff they let go in the past 18 months. 

Thursday, February 3, 2022

Across the UK

BBC Local Radio in England is stable, quarter on quarter, in the latest RAJAR audience figures, at around 6.7m weekly reach - which will please the management in their imposition of draining four-hour daytime slots.

Radio Cymru is up a bit, from 147k to 164k; glittery Radio Wales is down at tad, from 382k to 371k.  Radio Scotland has improved, from 933k to 976k. Radio Ulster is almost unchanged at 514k. Radio London is down from 978k to 882k.   

Increased commercial competition in its field seems to have hit 1Xtra from the BBC, down from 880k to 744k. 

The new normal ?

There are not many significant changes in the latest three-month set of radio listening figures, covering mid-September to mid-December. Some changes on the previous quarter may reflect a return to old ways of working - car/lorry/van listening was up to 22%, from the previous 21%, and a pre-pandemic figure of 24%.  Many breakfast shows got a slight boost, as did some mid-morning shows. 

Times Radio will be disappointed in a dip in weekly reach, from 637k to 502k; News UK say internal measuring of listening on 'connected' devices shows an increase. TalkRADIO, despite losing more presenters to GB News, rose from 450k to 542k. LBC as a whole hit new highs, with mid-morning James O'Brien overtaking breakfast's Nick Ferrari reach. 

The saviour of breakfast broadcasting, Chris Moyles, moved up at Radio X to 1.2m, and the station broke the 2m barrier. Greatest Hits Radio, with added Mayo, move ahead strongly in London, with reach up almost 50%. 

Wednesday, February 2, 2022

A summer of thinking ?

What changed her mind ?

Outgoing BBC News boss Fran Unsworth had her seat on the main board renewed in March last year, for a further period of two years, which would have taken her to 31st March 2023.  By 7th September she had formally announced her intention to leave on January 31st 2022. 

Early returns

The return of BBC3 to transmitters brought an average audience of 348k to their top show, Drag Race, at 9pm, with a peak of 375k. Just over a third of the show's audience was aged 16-34, way better than it was getting in the late evening BBC1 outing. 

The channel tied with ITV2 for share (1%) and was 0.5% behind E4.

A period of quiet

GB News hasn't shared sufficient data with the tv audience measurement team at BARB for them to publish their usual Top 15 shows for the network since January 9th. Eamonn Holmes started with the station on 3rd January. 

Tuesday, February 1, 2022

Sounds ok ?

The average weekly audience for BBC Sounds was 3.8m across the app, website and voice-activated devices in the last quarter, up from 3.8m during the previous three months.  

54% percent of overall plays on BBC Sounds were for live content and 65% percent of all listening hours were live - unchanged quarter on quarter.  The Top Ten 'on demand' programmes all came from Radio 4 or 4 Extra.  In Our Time (see below) and Today stood at 5 and 10 in the Top Ten for under-35s.  Eight of the Top Ten podcasts came from Radio 4. 

In the really big figures, there were 257 million global podcast downloads across the world during this quarter, Global News Podcast (BBC World Service), The Documentary (BBC World Service) and In Our Time (Radio 4) once again proved the most popular. Of course, the BBC Sounds strategists are about to disrupt this, by making In Our Time available only on BBC Sounds for the first four weeks after transmission. Brilliant, eh ?

Other people who read this.......