BBC Audience Council Submission to the BBC Trust Review of BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra

1. Introduction

In order to prepare this submission to the BBC Trust’s Review of Radio 5 Live and 5 Live Sports Extra, the Audience Council Northern Ireland engaged with a range of local licence fee payers and listened to their views. To this they added their own insights into the particular context for radio listening amongst the audience in Northern Ireland.

2. Executive Summary

Audience Council’s key findings for the Trust are:

• Amongst those we spoke to there was good overall appreciation for Radio 5 Live/5 Live Sports Extra and a feeling that its content and presentation style offered something distinctive in comparison to other BBC radio stations and the wider commercial radio market; there was also an overall consensus that the stations provide good value for money;

• Audiences place a priority on high quality, well-informed presenters and appreciate the opportunity to hear different voices from around the UK, and in particular from Northern Ireland; they also want to hear about sports from across the UK, including from Northern Ireland; the possibility of closer collaboration with nations’ radio stations was raised as one way in which greater diversity and UK-wide representation could be achieved;

• A personality-led approach to programming was noted as contributing to Radio 5 Live/5 Live Sports Extra’s distinctiveness, but audiences suggested that this needed to be carefully balanced with the appropriate levels of gravitas, authenticity, subject knowledge and professional broadcasting skills amongst presenters and ‘pundits’;

• In respect of Radio 5 Live Sports Extra there was a sense amongst audience members that the station did not have a clear or distinguishing brand proposition – and while some viewed it as the home of minority sport, others suggested that it almost felt like a competitor to Radio 5 Live when different sporting events were being covered simultaneously on both stations;

• Accessibility and findability can be problematic for some members of the audience; there were reports of poor reception in parts of Northern Ireland; others commented on confusion about how, and where, to find Radio 5 Live Sports Extra, noting that as a digital only station some sections of the audience were excluded from listening;

• Perceptions around excess spending in order to cover sporting events, particularly those abroad, were voiced; there was also some concern as to the allocation of funding for coverage across the range of sports enjoyed by audiences.

3. Evidence Base

The Audience Council operates a continuous engagement programme to enable it to actively gather the views of audiences in Northern Ireland on all aspects of the BBC’s output – both at local and network level.

Feedback on Radio 5 Live and 5 Live Sports Extra was received both as part of the Council’s ongoing engagement programme, and also via two events, held during June 2011, specifically aimed at informing Council’s submission to this Service Review.

One event took the form of an open meeting, with an audience made up of members of the public and a range of other stakeholders; while the other event was a roundtable discussion, facilitated by the umbrella organisation Sport NI, and attended by representatives of many of the main sporting traditions in Northern Ireland. In this way it was hoped to generate feedback from both the wider audience and those who might listen to Radio 5 Live/5 Live Sports Extra predominantly for its sports content.

The Service Review itself, and information about ways to participate, was publicised via the Audience Council website and an e-newsletter sent to over 500 members of the audience who had previously registered their interest in BBC Audience Council activities and/or the specific Service Review of Radio 5 Live/5 Live Sports Extra.

Third party networks throughout Northern Ireland were also used to encourage members of the audience to attend the open meeting or provide feedback to the Audience Council via completion of an online questionnaire, by email, or through a scheduled phone conversation with a member of the Trust Unit staff.

In addition to these locally based activities, representatives of the BBC Audience Council Northern Ireland attended a workshop in London, along with representatives from the BBC Trust’s network of Audience Councils throughout the UK, at which various aspects of the performance of BBC Radio 5 Live and 5 Live Sports Extra were discussed. The workshop also provided an opportunity for Council members to meet with the Station Controller and members of his senior team.

4. Audience Feedback

In considering audience feedback Council was mindful of the specific questions posed by the Trust in the Service Review consultation document and has grouped responses under the following headings:

4.1 News and Political Coverage

Radio 5 Live’s Service Licence notes that its remit, amongst other things, is to be the ‘home of continuous news’. Amongst those we spoke to, there were high levels of appreciation for the station’s rolling news provision and a general understanding that sometimes there needed to be a trade-off between broadcasting breaking news, characterised by a degree of immediacy, and the ‘polished’ packaging and presentation style that might otherwise be expected in scheduled reports.

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Council did however note an expectation that regardless of the pressures of handling breaking news, the audience wished to see a certain standard of gravitas maintained in both reporting and presentation.

‘You get good breaking news with wonderful immediacy with Radio 5 Live – they’re always prepared to break into their programmes’

‘.....although the trade off is that the immediacy isn’t always that well packaged, so while you’re listening you’re also trying to work out what’s actually going on’

In respect of political coverage, the general consensus was that Radio 5 Live addressed politics in an ‘engaging and interesting way’, encouraging audiences to respond on topical issues.

4.2 Sports Coverage

Audiences, especially those with a particular interest in sport, were generally appreciative of the high standards of sporting coverage on Radio 5 Live/5 Live Sports Extra – and had particular praise for the approach to sectoral issues such as funding, doping and governance – rather than purely concentrating on live or reported sporting action. Good listening figures for the stations in Northern Ireland were noted – attributed in some part to the strong local following for English football teams. Nonetheless, there were some concerns about certain aspects of the content provided.

From a Northern Ireland perspective there was a feeling that local sporting interests were not particularly well covered, with little acknowledgement of Magners League Rugby (which features teams from Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Italy) or of Irish Football League fixtures. Concern was expressed that this lack of coverage might become even more exacerbated by any forthcoming efficiencies resulting from the Delivering Quality First process.

Those we spoke to did appreciate that Radio Ulster played an important role in delivering this type of content to a local audience, but argued that it was equally important from a citizenship perspective for those involved in sport in Northern Ireland to feel like their achievements and/or issues were worthy of sharing with a wider UK audience, as appropriate.

Mindful of the need to avoid duplication of effort and material, opportunities for cross-over in content between Radio 5 Live/5 Live Sports Extra and Radio Ulster were suggested as one way of ensuring that sporting content from Northern Ireland could be made available to a UK-wide audience in a cost-effective manner. Such an approach could also, potentially, enhance the quality of coverage of local sports events and stories. An example was given of a recent Radio 5 Live piece on the Northern Ireland winner of a major golf tournament, presented by a network radio reporter. It was suggested that this piece might have featured more context and been more authentic had it been commissioned from Radio Ulster.

‘Radio Ulster needs to be an advocate for sport in Northern Ireland within the network, and particularly within Radio 5 Live’

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With regard to coverage of minority sports, it was generally accepted that the majority of airtime would be devoted to mainstream sports, but there was some concern that major international tournaments in certain sports - e.g. the Badminton World Championships - were being held in the UK, but were getting very little recognition on Radio 5 Live/5 Live Sports Extra. There was an overwhelming desire for references to such sports to be embedded, as appropriate, in general ongoing reporting, rather than being hived off into a speciality segment or merely ‘relegated’ to Radio 5 Live Sports Extra.

There was some discussion about the overall ability of the stations to be distinctive in terms of sports coverage. Those we spoke to acknowledged that it was difficult to compete with the market in this respect – particularly when audiences could self select content via the red-button on television services and on the internet.

BBC 6 Music was singled out as an example of a radio station that had developed a very distinct proposition. Some members of the audience with a specific interest in sport suggested that Radio 5 Live/5 Live Sports Extra should seek to become even more distinctive by re-positioning itself purely as a sports station – with much more limited coverage of news and current affairs. This, it was argued, would provide scope for more coverage of local and regional sports, as well as a wider range of sports interests.

‘Radio 5 Live content is too broad – it needs to provide more sports and less news’

4.3 In-depth journalism and analysis

While audiences told us that they believed there was a reasonable range of analysis and contextualisation available on Radio 5 Live, it was not what they had primarily come to expect from a station which they believed was characterised by personality-led content.

It was suggested that if a listener was expecting in-depth coverage of an issue then they would tune to a different station – Radio 4, for example. While describing Radio 5 Live as ‘pacey, lively and with some sharp interviews’, some noted the difference between the two stations as being like ‘the difference between a tabloid and a broadsheet’.

Despite not expecting significantly in-depth coverage of issues, audience members did however expect the stations to provide quality content in a professional style that was well informed, impartial and entertaining. There was some concern that this was not always the case, with a sense that some content – particularly that provided via panel discussions after sporting events and via audience interaction – was of variable quality and appeared, to some, to be filling space at some points in the schedule with cheaply produced content of questionable value to the audience.

Others we spoke to suggested that sometimes the approach taken by presenters was a little too lightweight – and that perhaps some of the more substantial discussions and analysis that had been available on the station in the past had now been ‘dumbed down’ a little too much in favour of ‘filler’ content. There seemed to be some concern that the stations should not lean too far towards generic content or content which was available elsewhere in the market.

One theme which became particularly clear throughout our engagement was that audiences felt that sometimes the stations relied too much on contributions from ‘pundits’ (in terms of both news and sports coverage). There was an acknowledgement that while it was helpful to have ex-

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politicians (and sportsmen/women) to provide an alternative perspective on an issue, a balance needed to be struck between experts and professional presenters that allowed for informative, challenging and diverse discussions on various issues – all within the context of high quality, distinctive output.

‘Sometimes it feels like the presenter isn’t competent enough..and if the subject is too difficult to engage the public, then they just don’t get to the heart of the issue’

‘When someone is presenting a sports show they should be able to talk and put the picture over ... far, far too many ex-participants on shows who can’t do that’

‘There is a danger in hiring ex-sports people as presenters – sometimes they lack the ‘craft’ – ‘just a bunch of mates sitting around having a chat’

4.4 UK-wide content

Radio 5 Live’s remit says that it should ‘regularly offer news from across the UK’. When we tested this with audience members they told us that while they appreciated the diversity of voices from around the UK heard on the stations (see 4.6.2), they did not always feel that this was matched by diversity of content from around the UK.

It was suggested that the stations seemed to have very limited knowledge about different parts of the UK and the particular issues that they faced - and that business news, for example, was very much centred on the City of London and rarely, if ever, covered stories or issues affecting small or local businesses.

With regard to sports content, there was a perception of only limited coverage of fixtures, issues and personalities from outside England. The example of rugby was used where, according to those we spoke to, there was a sense that the majority of coverage was focused on Premiership games, with very little corresponding coverage of games elsewhere in the UK – e.g. Magners League. Audience members also reported a sense of ‘overkill’ in the coverage of certain sports such as English County Cricket – which, it was suggested, may be of limited appeal to audiences outside England.

(More detailed feedback on sports content from Northern Ireland is dealt with at 4.2)

4.5 Audience participation

There were mixed views about the value of audience participation during Radio 5 Live programming. While acknowledging that the station clearly worked hard to encourage audience members to call in and engage with presenters and panel members it was felt that sometimes these discussions were not of the quality expected and sometime felt like ‘wallpapering over the timeslot’.

Council noted the view that in order for such interactive discussions to be of value, the presenters involved needed to be strong enough to direct conversation in an appropriate fashion and be knowledgeable enough about the subject at hand to challenge particular views, especially

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with complex issues. In some situations it was also felt that less-skilled presenters had the potential to be off-hand or rude with callers, a practice that many of those we spoke to felt made for uncomfortable listening.

Audiences welcomed the opportunities to include text and/or tweets as part of programming content but felt that their inclusion needed to be balanced so as not to interrupt the flow of a programme, or to ‘break up the quality of the discussion’.

4.6 Other issues

4.6.1 Accessibility

There were some reports of poor analogue reception, or no reception at all, for Radio 5 Live in certain parts of Northern Ireland. It was pointed out to Council that this was of particular concern in border areas where audiences had access to alternative public service broadcasting output provided by RTÉ from the Republic of Ireland.

In respect of Radio 5 Live Sports Extra, there was confusion amongst certain audience members as to how to access this service – and a general lack of understanding that it was only available on digital platforms. Council has noted that DAB radio take-up is already low in Northern Ireland – and significantly lags behind that of the rest of the UK.

‘It’s a complete mystery to me how you move across between 5 Live and 5 Live Sports Extra’

Given that what is perceived as ‘minority sports’ coverage is often scheduled on this service, there was some concern expressed that audience members in Northern Ireland could be missing out on the opportunity to engage with, and enjoy, this content.

4.6.2 Authentic Voices

Audiences told us they appreciated the range of authentic voices heard on the stations and noted that they were aware of a number of presenters from Northern Ireland who featured on the schedules – such as Stephen Nolan and Colin Murray - a factor which may contribute, in some way, to the higher listening figures for Radio 5 Live in Northern Ireland, compared to those in Scotland and Wales.

It was also noted, and appreciated, that Radio 5 Live seemed to give opportunities to a range of new voices in broadcasting, and to some this made the station seem ‘less rigid and traditional than elsewhere in the BBC’.

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4.6.3 Value for money

While it was felt, in general, that Radio 5 Live/5 Live Sports Extra represented good value for money, there was some underlying concern regarding elements of decision-making around both the station’s editorial content and its physical location.

While audience members accepted the strategy behind the station’s move to BBC North at Salford there were questions raised about the decision to locate outside of the South East, where traditionally most of the UK’s major sporting events have taken place. The timing of the move was also queried, given the impending 2012 London Olympics.

Audience members also noted that coverage of certain sports within the UK had been curtailed, or had never been carried in the first place, as a result of limited resources within the BBC, but then questioned why the organisation (more widely – not just Radio 5 Live/5 Live Sports Extra) could then justify expenditure on sending such large teams of personnel to cover events such as the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

It was argued that sometimes coverage of equally high quality could be achieved at much less cost by simply having a studio-based commentator/presentation team in the UK react to live action footage supplied from the overseas location. There appeared to be a lingering perception of excess in this respect which may become more acute as the long-term impacts of the Delivering Quality First project become more widely understood.

It was also drawn to our attention that Radio 5 Live/5 Live Sports Extra is one of the only radio stations in the BBC network (if not the only station) that offers a freephone number for phone-in programmes. We question whether or not this is consistent with current BBC policy.

5. Conclusion

There was broad agreement that Radio 5 Live/5 Live Sports Extra was meeting the terms of its Service Licence and that the content it provided was generally of a high standard and reasonably distinctiveness.

While largely characterised as a personality-led station, and appreciated for this fact, there was some concern amongst the audience to ensure that professional broadcasting skills of a high standard were maintained throughout the schedule regardless of the provenance of a particular presenter.

Audiences in Northern Ireland were very much aware of the presence of local voices on the stations and felt this helped them identify more closely with this particular network station. They did, however, express a desire to see more content from Northern Ireland reflecting the position of Radio 5 Live/5 Live Extra as a UK-wide station, appealing to licence-fee payers throughout the country.

Audience Council Northern Ireland August 2011

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