BBC Radio London has seen a massive 31% drop in listeners, according to the latest RAJAR official figures released yesterday Radio today reports
BBC Radio London sees a 31% drop in listeners year on year, down from almost a million listeners in Q3 2021 to 671,000 this quarter.
This is no surprise to us. Back in August we noted that "Project Destroy Radio London" was nearly complete. In October whenthe changes had been running for a month we noted that the changes were ruining the station. Over 7,000 people signed a petition to oppose the changes to times for Robert Elms and Jo Good, pretty unprecedented for a small local station.
I would love to see a breakdown of where the listeners have gone from. It is 100% clear that the changes haven't worked. Of course some listeners will have deserted due to Vanessa Feltz taking the Kings Shilling and going to Talk Radio, but more or less everyone I know who used to listen to Robert Elms and Jo Good have changed channels. I don't mind Eddie Nestor, so I've persisted but I switch off after his show and the playlist has tested my patence to breaking point.
There are still a couple of shows I enjoy, such as the Garry Crowley show and David and Carrie Grant and I try and listen to Robert at the weekend, but it really doesn't fit my schedule and I don't think the show works as well with everything crammed in. I can never remember the times and key slots are on sporadically. The best bits ofter where when the show meandered and that just doesn't happen anymore.
The BBC bosses need to take a long, hard look at what they've done. If they want a younger audience, why do they have such an atrocious playlist. My kids would acknowledge Robert played a decent, eclectic selection of music when allowed, but they hate the playlist and would never listen to the station. I think Jim Davis has done a good job as stand in for Vanessa, so of course he didn't get the gig.
My biggest beef was that Robert Elms had his ear on the cultural pulse of London and if you listened, you got to find out about new music, shows and other information. Great musicians would do live sessions in the studio and listeners felt energised. The brief for Eddie's show has almost zero cultural content. It is like a BBC version of LBC, which is not what public broadcasting should be.
Of course, the bosses at the BBC don't care and don't listen. Anyway, as Robert is a Burnt Oak Lad, here's a tune for him.
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I totally agree with your comments. It’s shocking to see such a sharp drop in listeners , but the Robert elms show should have stayed or been replaced by a similar format ; culture , eclectic music , rather than more news .I’ve been off work this week and where I would’ve tuned in to be informed and entertained by Roberts’s show , I’ve just put on a different station to listen to music . I always came away edified after Robert’s show . I think Eddie Nestor should have a different format ; a bit of news , some culture and some comedy . As well as being a font of knowledge on politics and news , he’s a very funny comedian . We all need a laugh And I suspect people are switching off because of the sameness , ie news and more news on all the channels .
ReplyDeleteShocking that radio London had such a sharp drop in listeners . Hope that the station will address this and bring back the Robert elms show . I totally loved listening to Robert elms show for the same reasons you did and have been off work this week , and where I would normally have tuned in to be edified and entertained by a show that is not another news show , I just have played my own music . Do people want to hear yet more news in these stressful times , or do they want to be uplifted with fresh content ? Why doesn’t Eddie’s show offer some comedy , a better playlist ? Eddie as well as being a font of all knowledge on politics and topical issues , is z comedian . It’s likely that people are walking away from the station to get away from bad news , and move towards lighter entertainment and a better selection of music . When will the bosses recognise that change is needed to the daytime schedule ?
ReplyDeleteWow - that is a shocking drop in numbers. But is anyone surprised, and do the BBC bosses care?
ReplyDeleteOn a selfish point - I like Robert Elms at the weekend. His Friday show marks the beginning of the weekend for me, and I can listen to his Sat and Sun shows pretty much uninterrupted by having to do some paid work.
Eddie Nestor's news format doesn't work mid-morning. It's too much after the breakfast show. Jim Davis was a great stand-in. I didn't miss Vanessa as much as I could have. I tried her drivetime show, but her new home is too Brexity for me.
I liked Eddie's drivetime show. I have no interest in London sports five evenings a week. I've switched to LBC.
Jo Good should be returned to the afternoon. Her style of broadcasting was ideal in that slot.
They have tried reaching out to a demographic that by and large are not interested in listening to local radio and never will be. Diversity has trumped quality
ReplyDeleteI sometimes get the impression that RL programming has been handed over to a gang of "meeja studies" straight out of college 21 year olds who believe they know what the audience wants without actually asking them.
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