The BBC shoots itself in the foot

Michael Parker

Would the market fund a Radio One? Are there loads of clones - bearing in mind that a large number of the station you refer to will be sister stations with local djs playing a playlist set centrally? Sure, a lot of their daytime stuff is probably similar to daytime commercial radio, although normally done to a much higher standard (of production, of presenter, of music choice - Radio One has a playlist but at least it's never as predictable as the commercial stations). But their evening ouput - which this advert is for - is astonishing. No other station has that breadth. No commercial station risks playing that much new music, and I doubt they would if radio one wasn't there because a lot of it isn't going to be a ratings winner. There are some brave commercial broadcasters - XFM springs to mind - but really, most of it is terrible.

The one point I'll give yo is that four minutes is probably excessive. But otherwise your post comes over as a "youth of today" rant.

Piush

Unfortunately Radio 1 has no direct commercial equivalent. The depth and breadth of live music which they broadcast is unreproducible in the commercial sector, as is their support of diverse musical genres. The equivalent argument would be radio 3 vs classic fm. Whilst being a Radio 1 fan, I have to say that the ad is a bit pointless.

Simon Leonard

Oh dear, showing your age a bit I think. Just because Radio 1 isn't your sort of thing doesn't mean it doesn't serve a valuable purpose. There are NO Radio 1 clones because all the rest are commercial stations that would never give the time of day to a lot of the music that Radio 1 champions. To give you one example, Radiohead (DCs fave I believe) got a lot of exposure on R1 in their early days and have since gone on to be a hugely successful band here and abroad. Culture is one of the few things left that we export and a fair chunk of it starts of on the channels that people like you detest. If you had your way The Office and Gavin & Stacey (another DC fave )would never have made it.

Anthony Gibson

That advert is specifically to publicise Radio One's evening output (if it were for their daytime shows you may have had a point). I honestly don't think there is a direct commercial equivalent for the range of new music they play that would otherwise struggle to be heard.

Ray

As an interesting aside, if Radio One exists to showcase otherwise underexposed talent, why does it not play any contemporary Christian music?

Many of the big names in Christian music, such as Rebecca St James, Delirious, Matt Redman and Hillsong, shift albums by the hundreds of thousands - and yet you'll never, ever hear their music on either the BBC or the commercial channels. Why?

Presumably the trendies at Radio One regard any song with the word 'Jesus' in it as definitely not 'with it' (unless, of course, that word is sung as a blasphemy).

David

What a stick in the mud!

Radio 1 is an excellent station for young people and at the forefront of playing new music that is simply not given a chance on commercial radion stations. It attracts the very best in broadcasting talent because of its public service commitment and people want to work for it because of what it stands for, not in spite of it.

I understand that it is doing extremely well against its competitors so I fear you may be in the minority on this one Stephen!

Keith Munro

Stephen
Go and live somewhere else for a while. I absolutely guarantee you won't mind paying the licence fee for a nanosecond on your return to the UK. I think you'll find it is in fact incredibly good value. Are there ways to improve the service....always, but be careful what you wish for.

Rgds
Keith
Expat for 23 years and now a very very very happy to pay, TV licence holder

Thom York

Radio 1 is responsible for giving us Radiohead? Kill it! Kill it now!
We'll see just how great Radio 1 is by its price when the BBC is chopped up and sold, piecemeal, to the highest bidder. You like listening to the latest flash-in-the-pan, tight-jeans-wearing, no-discernible-musical-talent, haircut, poser band? Fine - you pay for it by sitting through a few adverts on a commercial station. But there's no reason the rest of us should be forced by threat of criminalisation to fund your obscure musical tastes.

Adam B.

To all those who think Radio 1 is great, fine. You can pay for it. I think it's crap, yet I am coerced into being a customer. Is that fair?

Chris M

Radio One is godawful. It always was - still is. If people like pap, then so be it - but I don't like paying for it.

John

Exactly, Adam and Chris. It's a disgrace, an affront to a 21st century Western country, that we have to put up with this Stalinist manure, paying for a TV licence - we are the laughing stock of the free world, when we are not regarded with utter amazement and disgust for imposing a tax on owning a television.

Even if radio 1 were any good - which it isn't - having a 4-minute commercial out of my TV tax can only happen when you have a bloated, corrupt, antediluvian organisation like the BBC. It should be abolished, only then could we call ourselves civilised.

Grant

I've always thought that Radio 1 presenters were a bunch of inbred w*****s. This confirms my suspicions.
Simon Leonard - the fact that the execrably unfunny Gavin & Stacy would never have been lade without the BBC is surely an arguement in favour of the abolition of the licence fee. Ditto boring Radiohead.

ben

"The radio is full of almost nothing but Radio One clone stations The channel's existence is a standing affront to every licence payer."

Absolute rubbish. You sound to me like I would sound to you if I spouted an opinion on classical music. There isn't anthing in the same league as radio 1 - anywhere in the world - for coverage of new dance music. Now, this may not matter to you, but, radio 1 does it significantly better than anyone else anywhere and I for one am very grateful.

Adam B.

Fine Ben. You pay for it.