How BBC review will affect TV and radio output
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Your support makes all the difference.The BBC published its strategic review of services today which will have a huge effect on output, budgets and staffing.
Here are some of the ways it will affect services for viewers and listeners (figures are taken from the most recent BBC annual report):
* BBC1 (44 million weekly viewers, budget £1.39 billion, cost per user per hour 6.8p)
Should expand its "knowledge" output to areas such as history and science. Range and diversity of the channel "must and will be maintained".
* BBC2 (32.6 million weekly viewers, budget £570 million, cost per user per hour 7.5p)
Will be established as a home for "intelligent and ambitious drama, comedy and factual programming".
An extra £25m will be injected into the channel's budget from 2013 to boost "distinctiveness".
More "strongly authored" drama, reflecting the state of the nation and world, and a stronger role for "risky, innovative" comedy.
Less sport on the channel.
* BBC3 (10.6 million weekly viewers, budget £115 million, cost per user per hour 10.6p)
Must maintain commitment to original comedy and drama plus continue to move towards relevant, accessible and thought-provoking factual shows.
* BBC4 (4.4 million weekly viewers, budget £71 million, cost per user per hour 16.8p)
The station will be refocused with less comedy and entertainment, but more "arts, music, culture and knowledge", plus archive shows. It will be designed to complement BBC2.
* Radio 1 (10.8 million weekly listeners, budget £43 million, cost per user per hour 0.6p)
Should maintain and possibly increase commitment to UK and new music, live performances, social action programmes and specialist music.
* Radio 2 (13.3 million weekly listeners, budget £50.7 million, cost per user per hour 0.5p)
Shift specialist shows and features into higher-profile slots. More documentaries, concerts, comedy and jazz.
Daytime shows will become at least 50% speech during the day, and there will be a further focus on older listeners. It must ensure it does not overlap any further with commercial radio audiences.
* Radio 3 (2 million weekly listeners, budget £51.1 million, cost per user per hour 6.3p)
No real changes detailed.
* Radio 4 (9.7 million weekly listeners, budget £108.6 million, cost per user per hour 1.3p)
Will increase commitment to "ambitious knowledge projects", such as the current A History of The World In 100 Objects.
* Radio 5 Live (6 million weekly listeners, budget £72.2 million, cost per user per hour 2.3p)
No major changes detailed.
* Radio 6 Music (0.7 million weekly listeners, budget £9 million, cost per user per hour 3.4p)
To close by the end of 2011. It has "relatively few unique listeners" and boosting the audience would have an adverse impact on commercial stations, according to the review.
The BBC should maintain its overall spending on original digital radio content to help with switch-over. The BBC will look into how 6 Music's "distinctive" programmes can transfer to other stations. Popular music broadcasting will concentrate on Radios 1 and 2.
* Radio 5 Live Sports Extra (0.7 million weekly listeners, budget £3.7 million, cost per user per hour 2.6p)
No major changes detailed, but highlighted as a model for how digital stations can complement the main service.
* Radio 7 (0.9 million weekly listeners, budget £6.9 million, cost per user per hour 2p)
Will be aligned more closely as a complementary station for its parent service Radio 4. It will be rebranded Radio 4 Extra.
* Asian Network (0.4 million weekly listeners, budget £12.1 million, cost per user per hour 6.9p)
To close, with funds diverted to servicing Asian audiences in other ways. The review said the transfer from local service to digital service had been difficult and provided an "inconsistent listening experience". The audience is declining and the costs are relatively high.
An option is to move to a network of part-time local services with some syndicated national programmes on DAB and medium wave.
* Radio 1Xtra (0.6 million weekly listeners, budget £9.6 million, cost per user per hour 4.5p)
Links with Radio 1 will be "strengthened".
* BBC Online (22.2 million weekly users, costs £177 million, cost per user per hour 9.7p)
The BBC proposes cutting spending by a quarter by 2013, with a corresponding reduction in staffing levels. The number of sections to BBC sites will be halved by 2012, with many closing and others being grouped together. There will be fewer "bespoke" programme sites.
There will be links to non-BBC sites on every page and the corporation aims to double the number of click-throughs to them.
* CBeebies and CBBC (4.5 million and 2.9 million weekly viewers, cost £25.5 million and £50 million, cost per user per hour 1.8p and 9.5p)
The two channels are said to be "increasingly indispensable" as other broadcasters find themselves unable to invest in children's content. Spending will increase by £10 million a year from 2013 on UK-produced programming for children.
* Switch and Blast! (strands on TV and in the BBC's "learning portfolio")
The teen services will be closed as the review says neither is "reaching its target audience effectively". Although the BBC should continue to target younger teens, it must accept its role "will be secondary to that of Channel 4 and other broadcasters".
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