Trust: 'Radio 2, 6 Music must do better'

Radio 2 should do more to increase its appeal to older audiences, while BBC 6 Music should hire more credible presenters, a BBC Trust review has said.

Published today, the Trust's 12-week public consultation on Radio 2 and digital station BBC 6 Music received 4,700 responses from licence fee payers and industry stakeholders.

The review found that eight out of ten listeners felt that Radio 2's schedule "offered something that could not be easily found elsewhere".

However, the feedback also indicated that the station must work harder to protect and grow its older audience, specifically those aged over 65.

The Trust further said that Radio 2 should adopt a "more ambitious approach to non-music content in peak time", such as commissioning more comedy and arts programming. The consultation accepted though that "some loss of audience may be a consequence of a more varied and challenging selection of programmes".

Despite acknowledging the solid growth of BBC 6 Music, which recently increased its weekly listenership to 695,000, the Trust said that the station still reaches just 1% of the UK population, while only 20% are aware that it even exists.

The consultation called on the BBC 6 Music schedule to more effectively attract the music enthusiasts who are "currently less likely to listen, particularly older listeners".

It also said that presenters at the station should not only be popular, but also have "musical credibility to act as trusted guides for music enthusiasts".

As the station has an annual budget of around £6 million, the Trust told BBC 6 Music management to "become more cost effective by growing its reach without increasing costs".

BBC Trustee David Liddiment, who led the review, said: "Radio 2 has a large audience who clearly love its output, but the review showed it must break out of the routine with its programming, in particular to be more distinctive during peak time.

"In contrast, 6 Music has a distinctive approach, but the review concluded that it needed to grow its audience base without losing its USP [unique selling point].

He added: "We're aware of concerns about Radio 2 targeting a younger audience. The current average audience age of 50 is well within the station's target audience, but the Trust is clear that this must not fall any further, and we would like to see Radio 2 work on its appeal to over 65 year olds."