±«Óătv

Trust to review ±«Óătv's UK radio stations in 2014

Date: 10.02.2014     Last updated: 23.09.2014 at 09.50
Category: Radio; Service reviews

The ±«Óătv Trust will review the performance of all of the ±«Óătv's UK network music and speech radio services in 2014/15.

The Trust will conduct two reviews as part of its rolling programme – one will look at all ±«Óătv music radio stations, the other will examine all ±«Óătv speech radio stations in the round.  The reviews will assess the performance of each radio station against the requirements of its service licence, looking at listenership, quality, distinctiveness and value for money.

The first, to begin in May, will cover the ±«Óătv's music radio services: Radio 1, 1Xtra, Radio 2, 6Music, Radio 3 and Asian Network.  The second review will begin in the summer and will cover speech radio: Radio 4, 4Extra, 5live and 5live Sports Extra. 

Public consultations will be held when the reviews launch, to gather the views of licence fee payers on ±«Óătv Radio, and audience research will also be carried out. 

The Trust's rolling service review programme looks at every ±«Óătv service on TV, radio and online at least once every five years, and aims to continually drive the quality and distinctiveness of ±«Óătv services for licence fee payers.  Past reviews of radio services have led to increased listenership for 6Music, an increased commitment to politics, current affairs and minority sports on 5 live, and more distinctive and ambitious programmes on Radio 2, particularly in comedy and arts. 

David Liddiment, ±«Óătv Trustee and Chair of the Trust's Audiences and Performance Committee, said:

"The ±«Óătv was built on the foundations of its radio service 90 years ago and as the latest RAJARs show, they continue to be immensely popular stations, bringing the highest quality news, current affairs, music and entertainment into the homes of millions.  Our service reviews are firmly rooted in what audiences tell us - we'll take an in-depth look at how ±«Óătv radio is performing and where improvements are needed as we continue to drive up quality and serve those audiences even better."

The terms of reference for each review will be published when the reviews launch.  The reviews will conclude in spring/summer 2015.

In addition to these service reviews, in 2014/15 the Trust will also publish two value-for-money studies conducted by the National Audit Office, on the  and on progress in reducing costs through the implementation of the ±«Óătv's Delivering Quality First strategy.

Notes to editors

  1. Further information about the Trust's programme of service reviews can be found here. The Trust is required under the ±«Óătv Agreement, which sits alongside the Charter, to review each ±«Óătv service at least once every five years. 
  2. Under the service review programme, Asian Network and 5Live/5live Sports Extra were last reviewed in 2012; Radio 3, 4 and 7 (now Radio 4 Extra) were last reviewed in 2011; Radio 2 and 6Music in 2010; and Radio 1 and 1Xtra in 2009.  The findings of these reviews can be found here.
  3. The Trust's 2013 progress report on service reviews, published alongside the 2012/13 Annual Report, .