'Cockney' Radio 1 proves a turn-off
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.RADIO 1 is expected to publish figures on Monday showing a sharp downturn in its audiences. The figures come in the wake of a shake-up at the station over the past three months, writes Maggie Brown.
Commercial radio stations are also reporting that the addition of more speech and a wholesale change of presenters has given them an opportunity to gain audience share from the BBC.
One station, BRMB in Birmingham, said it had noticed that Danny Baker, the south London presenter broadcasting on Saturday and Sunday mornings, is driving people away because Midlands people do not like his accent.
Industry data for the three months to December will be published on Monday by Rajar, the radio audience research body. Already Liz Forgan, managing director of BBC Radio, has confirmed it will show there has been a drop in audiences. She said it was inevitable that when things changed, some people stopped listening. The network has been changed partly to conform with the BBC's public service objectives and also to rework it, with younger presenters.
Mike Owens, general manager of BRMB, said that it regularly tracks its audiences to see what was happening and 'we sense a certain trend against Radio 1. It comes back to the fact that people are creatures of habit'.
He said that Dave Lee Travis replaced by Danny Baker, played fairly old pop music and ran a simple competition. 'Danny Baker's high-speed delivery, the content of what he says with perhaps obscure humour, may be a mistake. Our experience in Birmingham is that a Cockney accent puts people off.'
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments