Audience Councils
Your voice
A key part of our role is to understand what audiences in England want from the ±«Óătv and identify any particular issues or concerns. To do this we discuss the feedback and discussions from the meetings we have with our panel members in the spring, summer and autumn across England. From time to time we also meet in smaller working groups by conference call and by email - as well as using other sources of audience data and insight.
The advice we have submitted to the Trust as a result of our discussions on various ±«Óătv services and strategies can be seen below. The ±«Óătv Trust carries out regular in-depth reviews of each of the ±«Óătv's services, as part of its Charter responsibilities. The Trust has looked at every ±«Óătv service over the last five years and has now begun a second round of reviews. The first of these covered ±«Óătv Online and Red Button.
±«Óătv Trust Charter Review consultations
Our submission to the Trust’s consultations on ±«Óătv Charter Review and the ±«Óătv’s proposals in British, Bold, Creative is set out in two parts. The first is based on discussion and consideration of the key questions of relevance to audiences in the government’s Green Paper, published in July 2015 on the ±«Óătv’s future, its mission, scope, funding and regulation. The second part considers the ±«Óătv Executive’s proposals in British, Bold, Creative for future programmes and services in the next Charter period. In particular the members deliberated on how the ±«Óătv might evolve to meet the priorities and needs of audiences in England as both consumers and citizens in the digital age.
You can read the submission from the Audience Council England and the Trust’s findings via the links here:
The Trust’s second round of service reviews 2012 - 2017
±«Óătv Local Radio and Local News and Current Affairs in England
The ±«Óătv Trust’s review looked at ±«Óătv Local Radio and local news and current affairs in England. It covered ±«Óătv Local Radio in England, ±«Óătv regional and current affairs on TV, and ±«Óătv local news online. The Trust previously reviewed ±«Óătv Local Radio in 2012, but this was the first time the whole of the ±«Óătv’s local and regional news and current affairs output in England was looked at together.
In preparing our submission to the Trust we discussed how licence fee payers are using the services and their appeal; how effectively the ±«Óătv is performing on behalf of local and regional audiences in England; and how the services contribute to the delivery of the ±«Óătv’s public purposes.
You can read the submission from the Audience Council England and the Trust’s findings via the links here:
±«Óătv Speech Radio – ±«Óătv Radio 4, Radio 5 live and their digital sister stations Radio 4 Extra and 5 live Sports Extra
The ±«Óătv Trust’s review of the ±«Óătv’s speech radio stations, announced in December 2014, looked at how well the radio stations are serving audiences, the future plans of the stations, and whether they are responding effectively to changing audience expectations and listening habits. The review also involved a public consultation.
In our submission to the Trust’s review of ±«Óătv Speech Radio we said that the ±«Óătv’s speech radio services – Radio 4, Radio 5 live, Radio 4 Extra and 5 live Sports Extra - continue to play a valued and important role for the audience in daily, contemporary life across the UK. In general, we consider that the speech radio portfolio is performing well and meets the individual service licences in many respects.
You can read the submission from the Audience Council England and the Trust’s findings via the links here:
The ±«Óătv Trust's provisional conclusions on proposed changes to ±«Óătv television and online services
The Trust published its provisional conclusions on the ±«Óătv Executive’s proposals to reinvent ±«Óătv Three as an online-only service, launch a +1 channel for ±«Óătv One; evolve ±«Óătv iPlayer; and extend the hours of C±«Óătv:
You can read the submission from the Audience Council England and the Trust’s findings via the links here:
±«Óătv Music Radio – Radio 1, Radio 1Xtra, Radio 2, Radio 3, Radio 6 Music and Asian Network
The ±«Óătv Trust’s review of the ±«Óătv’s six music radio stations, announced in February 2014, was the first to look at all six stations together. The review also involved a public consultation.
In our submission to the ±«Óătv Trust’s review of ±«Óătv Music radio we said that the ±«Óătv’s music radio services - Radio1, Radio1Xtra, Radio 2, Radio 3, Radio 6 Music and Asian Network - together offer a diverse range of high quality, creative, varied and distinctive content that is widely appreciated and valued by audiences. We consider that the six music radio stations are performing well against many aspects of their service licences, delivering an impressive breadth of entertaining, engaging and informative programming and providing some outstanding new, UK and live music which appeals to a variety of different audience interests.
You can read the submission from the Audience Council England and the Trust’s findings via the links here:
±«Óătv Television Services – ±«Óătv One, Two, Three and Four
The ±«Óătv Trust’s review of ±«Óătv Television, announced in February 2013, is the Trust’s second review of ±«Óătv Television, but the first to look at all four channels together. The review also involved a public consultation.
In our submission to the ±«Óătv Trust’s review of ±«Óătv television we said that the ±«Óătv’s main television services are performing well against some aspects of their service licence. Many of the programmes are high quality and enjoyed by audiences, and there is a good range of different types of programmes, some of which gain large numbers of viewers, others with more niche appeal.
We hoped that this service review can help to clarify the roles and remits of each of the channels, in order for the ±«Óătv to continue to provide such high-quality programmes for all audiences.
You can read the submission from the Audience Council England and the Trust’s findings via the links here:
±«Óătv Network News and Current Affairs
In February 2013 the ±«Óătv Trust announced a review of ±«Óătv network news and current affairs, which also involved a public consultation, which examined how well news and current affairs performed against commitments set by the Trust in the ±«Óătv's service licences, and against the ±«Óătv's broader public service role.
In our submission we found that for many people the ±«Óătv continues to be a prime source of reliable and accurate news. We considered how increased choice has impacted on the development of editorial content and we said that the ±«Óătv news offer was successful because of the range, breadth and balance of news services and coverage.
You can read the submission from the Audience Council England and the Trust’s findings via the links here:
Children's Services
In our submission to the ±«Óătv Trust’s review of Children’s Services we said that CBeebies and C±«Óătv delivered high quality programmes, largely made in the UK, for a range of children. The services were trusted by parents and enjoyed by children.
We also said that:
- The range of programmes differentiated the ±«Óătv’s children’s channels from others, though believed there could be more educational content on C±«Óătv.
- The channels were largely successful in representing a diverse UK but more could be done to reflect different geographic areas or socio-economic groups.
- It was very important the ±«Óătv continues to invest in services for children.
You can read the submission from the Audience Council England and the Trust’s findings via the links here:
±«Óătv Online and Red Button
The Trust considered the performance and future direction of ±«Óătv Online and Red Button and as a result set out a number of actions to improve the service, including:
- ±«Óătv management should consider how to improve navigation across ±«Óătv Online.
- ±«Óătv management should explore opportunities to develop and implement greater personalisation.
- The Trust will assess the success of the re-launched Knowledge & Learning product.
- ±«Óătv management should develop plans for ±«Óătv Online to provide a better local offer.
- The Trust supports ±«Óătv Online becoming a more integrated single service and will monitor progress towards this.
You can read the submission from the Audience Council England and the Trust’s findings via the links here:
The Trust’s first round of service reviews 2007 - 2012
Delivering Quality First
Delivering Quality First set out the ±«Óătv's plan for delivering cost savings and changes to services while preserving the highest quality programmes and content to audiences until the end of the Charter in 2017. The consultation ran during 2011.
±«Óătv Asian Network
The Trust considered the performance and future direction of the ±«Óătv Asian Network through a service review which concluded in December 2011.
You can read the submission from the Audience Council England and the Trust’s findings via the links here
±«Óătv Local Radio
The Trust considered the performance and future direction of ±«Óătv Local Radio through a service review which concluded in December 2011.
You can read the submission from the Audience Council England and the Trust’s findings via the links here
±«Óătv Parliament and the ±«Óătv News Channel
The Trust considered the performance and future direction of ±«Óătv Parliament and the ±«Óătv News Channel through a service review in 2011.
On this occasion the four Audience Councils submitted a joint response and you can read our joint submission and the Trust’s findings via the links here
±«Óătv Radio 5live and ±«Óătv Radio 5live sports extra
The Trust considered the performance and future direction of ±«Óătv Radio 5Live and ±«Óătv Radio 5live sports extra through a service review in 2011.
You can read the submission from the Audience Council England and the Trust’s findings via the links here
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