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Lady_grantham Posts: 34 Forum Member ✭
04/03/24 - 15:11 in Radio and Podcasts #1
I don't know how much truth there is to this, I've not seen it on any of the big news sources
but I did read somewhere, that in 2024 BBC radio 4 extra is going online only. on the same page, I read the bbc radio 4 lw service is closing
anyone know when (if) bbc 4 extra goes online only?
I hope not for a while yet, I love the comedy club too much..
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Guineye Posts: 409
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04/03/24 - 17:13 #2
In 2022, a BBC plan said:
"Over time we expect to consolidate and share more content between services, and expect to stop broadcasting some of our smaller channels on linear. This will include services like BBC Four, CBBC and Radio 4 Extra. But we won’t do this for at least the next three years because for the moment they are still delivering value to millions of viewers and listeners, at low extra cost."
https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/speeches/2022/digital-first-bbc-director-general-tim-davieSince then, they have moved the Daily Service and Yesterday in Parliament from BBC Radio 4 LW to BBC Radio 4 Extra so it is much less likely to close in the next few years.
If in the future most people listen to its programmes as box-sets / catch-up rather than as they go out, then it might not be worth the cost of running it as a station.4
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mfr Posts: 5,693
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04/03/24 - 17:26 #3
Yes. While some people interpreted that as a closure announcement, I read it as: "The radio landscape, and the way people consume some radio, is changing rapidly and at some point we expect the archive services to to be online only as people will be listening on demand to programmes of their choice." The announcement actually guaranteed R4E wouldn't close on DAB any time soon, quite the opposite of a closure announcement!
People are used to creating their own schedules using Netflix. The expectation is people will do the same with the BBCs archive material. But not in the very near future.
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Robert Williams Posts: 2,233
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04/03/24 - 18:12 #4
I presume any formal plan for closure/move online would still have to go through a public consultation, as with 6 Music and BBC Three? I very much suspect that, just as with the 6 Music closure plan, and indeed more recently with the Red Button service, the station's loyal listeners would create enough of a fuss to force management to make a U-turn.
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Robert Williams Posts: 2,233
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04/03/24 - 18:35 edited 04/03/24 - 18:35 #5
mfr wrote: »
People are used to creating their own schedules using Netflix. The expectation is people will do the same with the BBCs archive material. But not in the very near future.
That would seem to fly in the face of the creation of the spin-off Radio 1 streams, and to an extent the planned new stations, which 'curate' content available on BBC Sounds, recognising that you may not always have the time or the inclination to wade through reams of content looking for something to listen to, sometimes you just want to switch the radio on and have something to listen to straight away, and that way may also discover content that you may not have actively chosen.
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Guy_Barry Posts: 3,915
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04/03/24 - 18:46 #6
I am starting to wonder whether there's a long-term plan to turn R4 Extra into a "dustbin" network along the lines of the old Radio 5, which was originally made up of all the bits that couldn't be fitted easily into the other networks. Yesterday in Parliament and the Daily Service are the only two programmes that have been announced so far but maybe there'll be others. The archive content would gradually go online-only as the broadcast service gradually filled up with other unwanted bits and pieces.
I hope this isn't the case, but various comments on this forum have led me to think it might be.
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Gerry1 Posts: 4,237
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04/03/24 - 19:06 edited 04/03/24 - 19:07 #7
In passing, it's interesting to note that this explains why the Daily Service and Yesterday in Parliament are moving to R4 Extra.
At present they are on DAB as Secondary Components which pop up only a minute or 30 before they are needed; unfortunately this requires extra bandwidth that has to be 'stolen' from other services, reducing their quality or requiring them to switch to mono.
There was no reason to change the existing DAB arrangements simply because these two programmes will no longer be broadcast on Long Wave from next month.
However, the proposed new spin-off stations will finally break the already unsatisfactory dynamic reconfigurations, implying that the BBC has finally decided to use some DAB+ on its national mux. Not before time; perhaps Classic FM set a useful precedent.
So there was indeed some method in their madness !
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Lady_grantham Posts: 34
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04/03/24 - 19:13 #8
mfr wrote: »
Yes. While some people interpreted that as a closure announcement, I read it as: "The radio landscape, and the way people consume some radio, is changing rapidly and at some point we expect the archive services to to be online only as people will be listening on demand to programmes of their choice." The announcement actually guaranteed R4E wouldn't close on DAB any time soon, quite the opposite of a closure announcement!
People are used to creating their own schedules using Netflix. The expectation is people will do the same with the BBCs archive material. But not in the very near future.
this is good to hear. very good to hear.
I am glad I have some time to enjoy it still. I'll really miss it when it's gone (and this is coming from a woman who said when she was younger, never in her life will she ever listen to radio 4)
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Guy_Barry Posts: 3,915
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04/03/24 - 19:15 edited 04/03/24 - 19:22 #9
Lady_grantham wrote: »
I am glad I have some time to enjoy it still. I'll really miss it when it's gone (and this is coming from a woman who said when she was younger, never in her life will she ever listen to radio 4)
Radio 4 Extra isn't Radio 4! Although the bulk of the content originates on Radio 4 it includes programmes from several other networks, as well as a small amount of original programming.
One reason why I'm opposed to moving Yesterday in Parliament and the Daily Service to Radio 4 Extra is that it'll make the station sound more like an offshoot of Radio 4, rather than having its own distinctive sound as it has at the moment. I like to think of R4 Extra as an "escapist" station where you can get away from the real world for a while - no news bulletins, no politics and no religion either. It's a shame that they've chosen to go down this route, though I appreciate that the options were limited.
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hyperstarsponge Posts: 17,073
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04/03/24 - 19:21 edited 04/03/24 - 19:23 #10
Radio 4 Extra needs new programming to survive, If people want to listen to older stuff now they would be better off on BBC Sounds. If they were smart they could use R4 Extra for a odd like extra programme with politics or art to look good. Actually to think there is actually not much art on in general anyway so they could make a show for that. Same for Science as well when I think about it.
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Fairyprincess0 Posts: 30,249
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04/03/24 - 19:39 #11
I fall asleep to four Extra. There nothing better the waking up at 3 or 4 in the morning in a warm bed and catching an old sit com, or a bit of an audiobook....
It's totally invaluable to me...
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gomezz Posts: 45,128
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04/03/24 - 21:04 #12
Best thing about R4X is there not being any news bulletins. A safe haven for a while away from all the madness in the world.
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alex13 Posts: 199
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04/03/24 - 21:54 edited 04/03/24 - 21:54 #13
Guy_Barry wrote: »
Radio 4 Extra isn't Radio 4! Although the bulk of the content originates on Radio 4 it includes programmes from several other networks, as well as a small amount of original programming.
One reason why I'm opposed to moving Yesterday in Parliament and the Daily Service to Radio 4 Extra is that it'll make the station sound more like an offshoot of Radio 4, rather than having its own distinctive sound as it has at the moment. I like to think of R4 Extra as an "escapist" station where you can get away from the real world for a while - no news bulletins, no politics and no religion either. It's a shame that they've chosen to go down this route, though I appreciate that the options were limited.
I agree on the "escapist" point. I remember many were particularly disappointed when 4 Ex of all the BBC radio stations was taken over by the Prince Philip passing news for several days.
Wasn't the purpose of being distinct from Radio 4 the reason why it was named Radio 7 originally? I don't have any issue with them sticking some Radio 4 content on there to align with the offshoot-implied branding of "4 Extra" - otherwise why call it that in the first place?
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mfr Posts: 5,693
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05/03/24 - 07:12 #14
Robert Williams wrote: »
mfr wrote: »
People are used to creating their own schedules using Netflix. The expectation is people will do the same with the BBCs archive material. But not in the very near future.
That would seem to fly in the face of the creation of the spin-off Radio 1 streams, and to an extent the planned new stations, which 'curate' content available on BBC Sounds, recognising that you may not always have the time or the inclination to wade through reams of content looking for something to listen to, sometimes you just want to switch the radio on and have something to listen to straight away, and that way may also discover content that you may not have actively chosen.
There's a difference between predominantly music programming and sometimes lengthy documentary/drama/comedy series which are best listened to in order.
In any case, R4E is going nowhere anytime soon. So long as people are listening in significant numbers it'll hang around.
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mfr Posts: 5,693
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05/03/24 - 07:13 #15
gomezz wrote: »
Best thing about R4X is there not being any news bulletins. A safe haven for a while away from all the madness in the world.
Indeed. It's (a small) part of the reason I love Radio 3. Just enough news to keep you connected, but none for long swathes of the day.
Scala missed a trick with news, weather and travel still clogging up its schedules.
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Guy_Barry Posts: 3,915
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05/03/24 - 07:37 #16
alex13 wrote: »
Wasn't the purpose of being distinct from Radio 4 the reason why it was named Radio 7 originally?
Actually the original name was "BBC7", which made it sound like a TV channel! They stuck with that name for six years before changing it to the more sensible "Radio 7", which only lasted for two-and-a-half years before it was changed again to the current name. The reason for the second name change was so that the station could function partly as a Radio 4 catch-up service and include spin-off programmes like "Ambridge Extra". Those aspects of the schedule have pretty much disappeared now, and to be honest I think they'd be better off calling it "Radio 7" again. Three name changes in just over 20 years would probably be a bit much though
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alex13 Posts: 199
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05/03/24 - 22:53 edited 05/03/24 - 22:56 #17
To my mind there is nothing on 4Ex that isn't already in R4's broader remit, so it would still make sense to me to keep the stations closely linked. If this means 4Ex ends up with some extensions e.g. "News Quiz Extra" so be it. I appreciate 4Ex isn't solely reliant on R4 content, but I am coming at this from a remit perspective - namely comedy and drama, irrespective of which station the programme originated from.
The presentation team on 4Ex is also almost exclusively made up of current and past radio 4 announcers, save for Joanna Pinnock (who dates back to BBC7!) and Wes Butters.
On the topic of presentation, I do find 4Exs current jingles between programmes pretty naff. I wonder if these will be changed at some point.
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GeorgeS_2 Posts: 15,848
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05/03/24 - 23:17 #18
Bring back BBC radio 7!!
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Hertz Posts: 3,272
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05/03/24 - 23:29 edited 05/03/24 - 23:29 #19
GeorgeS_2 wrote: »
Bring back BBC radio 7!!
Or BBC Radio 10.
😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀
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alex13 Posts: 199
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05/03/24 - 23:49 edited 05/03/24 - 23:50 #20
One wonders if they drew the BBC from scratch today, you wouldn't number the radio stations but rather just refer to them what they are e.g. BBC Radio Archive, BBC Radio Sport, BBC Radio News etc. A bit harder with the music genres, I appreciate!
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davelovesleeds Posts: 23,903
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06/03/24 - 09:24 #21
Hertz wrote: »
GeorgeS_2 wrote: »
Bring back BBC radio 7!!
Or BBC Radio 10.
😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀
I remember Radio 10
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gomezz Posts: 45,128
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06/03/24 - 11:20 #22
alex13 wrote: »
One wonders if they drew the BBC from scratch today, you wouldn't number the radio stations but rather just refer to them what they are e.g. BBC Radio Archive, BBC Radio Sport, BBC Radio News etc. A bit harder with the music genres, I appreciate!
That is exactly what they did with the Home and Light services and later the Third service which morphed into BBC Radios 4, 2 and 3 with the rebranding accompanying the launch of BBC Radio 1.
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Gerry1 Posts: 4,237
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06/03/24 - 17:31 #23
Guy_Barry wrote: »
Three name changes in just over 20 years would probably be a bit much though
Beaten by BBC Radio London→GLR→BBC London Live 94.9→BBC London 94.9→BBC Radio London.
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alex13 Posts: 199
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07/03/24 - 00:30 #24
Wasn't it also called "BBC LDN" at one point too?
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Robert Williams Posts: 2,233
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07/03/24 - 08:45 edited 07/03/24 - 08:52 #25
alex13 wrote: »
Wasn't it also called "BBC LDN" at one point too?
No, LDN was the logo but confusingly not actually the name of station. It was introduced in 2001 at the that station became known as BBC London 94.9. Thankfully that nonsense didn't last too long.
I think Sussex can beat London for the number of rebrands:
BBC Radio Brighton > BBC Radio Sussex > BBC Radio Sussex & Surrey > BBC Southern Counties Radio > BBC Sussex > BBC Radio Sussex3
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Guy_Barry Posts: 3,915
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15/03/24 - 18:06 #26
For anyone who hasn't seen it, here's the new schedule from the first week in April:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/schedules/p00fzl7l/2024/w14
For some reason they haven't filled in the listings for the Daily Service at 9.45am after the first day, but the slot is clearly there. No Yesterday in Parliament at 8.30am yet because Parliament will be in recess that week, but you can see that the comedy has been moved out to make way for it.
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