bbc trust review of radio 5 live and radio 5 live sports...
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UTV Media (GB) response to „BBC Trust review of Radio 5 Live and Radio 5 Live Sports Extra‟ – July 11 1
BBC Trust review of Radio 5 Live and Radio 5 Live Sports Extra Non-confidential version – includes redactions
1. Executive Summary
1.1. Overview
1.1.1. The BBC is one of the world‟s pre-eminent public service broadcasters, boasting
news resources which are the envy of media organisations the world over. This is
as true today as it was in March 1994, when BBC Radio 5 Live was launched to
extend choice on the UK‟s national radio airwaves by satisfying previously unmet
listener demand for continuous news.
1.1.2. Seventeen years later, BBC Radio 5 Live‟s budget stands at £71.8m, but as the
BBC Trust undertakes the first ever public review of the radio station, listeners are
more likely to associate 5 Live with sport and football than the 75% news service
described in its service licence. Once a highly distinctive service fulfilling a unique
public service role, today 5 Live is at a crossroads, boasting a large, male
dominated audience, but unclear as to what it is there to do. This review is
therefore timely. As the operator of 5 Live‟s principal commercial competitor,
talkSPORT, we welcome the signs that the BBC Trust is approaching it with
thoroughness and care.
1.1.3. Our submission proposes a simple solution to restore 5 Live‟s distinctive position
within UK radio: a return to its original news remit, coupled with greater balance in
its sports output. To achieve this, we suggest a series of revisions to 5 Live‟s service
licence, which are backed by detailed evidence from listeners, experts and the
wider radio market. The revisions we propose arise from two key assertions:
1. 5 Live‟s news programmes should expand upon the major national and
international news headlines of the day whilst covering important stories
that are neglected elsewhere in the mainstream news media.
2. Once the London 2012 Olympics are concluded, 5 Live should secure a
legacy for minority and Olympic sports on mainstream UK radio by
committing to daily coverage of „minority‟ sports in its flagship sports
programmes.
1.1.4. Amending BBC Radio 5 Live‟s service licence in this way can spark a change in
culture within 5 Live to coincide with its move to new studios in Salford. Our
suggested changes would leave no ambiguity about 5 Live‟s objectives. Rather
than chasing ratings or competing with commercial stations, 5 Live would gain a
distinctive public service focus, imbued with the values of the BBC‟s „Quality First‟
strategy.
1.1.5. Our submission also includes proposals in relation to 5 Live Sports Extra, as well as
observations on 5 Live and 5 Live Sports Extra‟s delivery of value for money.
UTV Media (GB) response to „BBC Trust review of Radio 5 Live and Radio 5 Live Sports Extra‟ – July 11 2
1.2. 5 Live‟s news programmes should expand upon the major national and
international news headlines of the day whilst covering important stories that are
neglected elsewhere in the mainstream news media
1.2.1. Our submission includes the findings of independent content analysis by Robin
Britten, visiting lecturer at the University of Staffordshire, and a former News Editor
and founding Editor at BBC Radio 5 Live. This analysis indicates that news
comprises only 50.1% of 5 Live‟s output, against a service licence requirement of
75%. Including sport summaries and trails the percentage of news increases to just
58.9%.
1.2.2. Britten‟s report also sets out a recommended set of definitions for news
programmes on 5 Live. These definitions are aimed at providing production staff
with more direction as to the purpose of individual programmes, and at
addressing the blurring of the boundaries, which Britten identified, between
topicality and news, and between informed discussion or debate, and chat.
1.2.3. Britten‟s assessment tallies with the perception of 5 Live‟s own listeners, who are
more likely to associate the BBC licence-fee funded station with sport and
football than with news. In April 2011, BritainThinks found that 5 Live‟s listeners
estimate that just 38% of its airtime is dedicated to news (20% to „serious‟ news),
with 45% dedicated to sport. Listeners also told BritainThinks that crime, politics,
business and consumer affairs stories fall under the definition of news, but they
disagreed that TV, entertainment and celebrity stories are news.
1.2.4. Our submission accordingly sets out service licence amendments to ensure that 5
Live distinguishes itself from other networks by expanding upon the major news
headlines of the day and broadening the news agenda by covering important
stories that are neglected elsewhere in the mainstream news media. These
suggested amendments build on Britten‟s report, the findings of the BritainThinks
listener research, statements from BBC management, and comparable
requirements for news content in service licences for other BBC services such as
BBC One and BBC News.
1.3. 5 Live should cover „minority‟ sports in its daily flagship sports strands
1.3.1. In advance of this review, the Trust ruled that 5 Live‟s service licence needed to
offer “greater clarity” on the “frequency and range” of minority and secondary
sports coverage on 5 Live. Our submission proposes that 5 Live is uniquely placed
to ensure a permanent home for minority and Olympic sports on mainstream UK
radio by committing to coverage of „minority‟ sports in its daily flagship sports
strands. 5 Live Sports Extra‟s limited reach means that it is poorly placed to deliver
this output, whilst commercial radio lacks the appropriate resources and public
service remit.
1.3.2. Our proposal essentially amounts to a call for 5 Live to recapture its original public
service mission for broad sports coverage. When 5 Live launched, plans were
announced to “attract more women to sports radio by increasing coverage of
tennis, athletics and golf”, but today over 70% of its audience is male, and
listeners estimate that 67% of its sports content is football. Embarrassingly for BBC
management, in 2001 an independent panel commissioned by BBC Governors
found that 5 Live was overly obsessed with football. In response, 5 Live made
specific commitments to increase the range of sports it covers, but
disappointingly little trace of these commitments remains today.
UTV Media (GB) response to „BBC Trust review of Radio 5 Live and Radio 5 Live Sports Extra‟ – July 11 3
1.3.3. Our call for 5 Live to strengthen its public service commitment to minority and
secondary sports is also supported by listeners. In listener research, 51% of 5 Live
listeners told BritainThinks that the station should devote more airtime to sports that
are less often covered by other broadcasters; only 18% disagreed. This is despite 5
Live‟s audience exhibiting a significantly above-average interest in football. Our
submission also demonstrates that extending the range of sports covered by 5
Live is likely to help it to achieve a more balanced audience. 72% of 5 Live
listeners are currently male, and the male profile has been gradually trending
upwards in recent years.
1.4. 5 Live and 5 Live Sports Extra deliver the lowest value for money of any national
speech radio stations in the UK – with high cost areas including sports rights
1.4.1. Not only is 5 Live less distinctive than other speech networks such as Radio 4, its
annual content budget of £53.3m (its total budget is £71.8m) means that it is the
most expensive national speech radio station in the UK, on a cost per listener hour
basis, along with 5 Live Sports Extra. 5 Live‟s content budget is also over []
higher than that of talkSPORT.
1.4.2. To understand the reasons for the cost disparities between 5 Live and talkSPORT
(aside from those which are explained by differences in service objectives), we
have over the last year attempted to engage with the BBC over a radio
production costs benchmarking exercise. These attempts have proven
unsuccessful. In the absence of benchmarking data, our response sets out key
examples of areas in which the licence fee funded service is engaging in
potentially inefficient production approaches.
1.4.3. One key area where it is possible to identify inefficiency relates to expenditure on
sports rights. Our response therefore proposes that the BBC makes a meaningful
reduction in its radio sports rights spending, and commits to avoid acquiring sports
rights on an exclusive basis. Earlier this year, it was revealed that the Premier
League‟s revenue from radio rights over three years is £42m []. [] exclusive
access for the BBC to four of the Premier League‟s most attractive rights
packages (out of a total of seven available) – packages which would otherwise
be offered on a free to air basis by commercial stations.
1.5. 5 Live Sports Extra should revert to an overflow service which operates solely during
major sporting events
1.5.1. The launch of 5 Live Sports Extra in 2002 reflected BBC radio‟s success in
dominating the market for radio sports rights, with the BBC possessing more sports
rights than it could conceivably hope to put to air. The Government‟s approval
notice described the proposed service – then named as Five Live Sports Plus – as
“a distinctive, well-defined service, which will broadcast only when it can make
better use of existing sports rights already obtained for BBC radio”.
1.5.2. 5 Live Sports Extra‟s current service licence is intended to reflect the remit that
was approved a decade ago. Despite this, our response notes statements from
BBC management indicating that rights have been acquired solely for
deployment on 5 Live Sports Extra. There is also evidence that BBC management
are seeking to define a standalone identity and content offering for the overflow
sports network. We urge the BBC Trust to clarify whether 5 Live Sports Extra is being
operated in accordance with its service licence.
UTV Media (GB) response to „BBC Trust review of Radio 5 Live and Radio 5 Live Sports Extra‟ – July 11 4
1.5.3. We propose that 5 Live Sports Extra should revert to an overflow service which
operates solely during major sporting events such as the Olympics – i.e. on an
infrequent ad hoc basis. Its output should be restricted to live commentary, with
repeat commentaries / highlights delivered via BBC iPlayer, where they can be
accessed by listeners on a truly on-demand basis.
UTV Media (GB) response to „BBC Trust review of Radio 5 Live and Radio 5 Live Sports Extra‟ – July 11 5
2. Suggested service licence amendments
BBC Radio 5 Live – News
i. 5 Live’s news programmes should expand upon the major national and
international news headlines of the day whilst covering important stories that
are neglected elsewhere in the mainstream news media
ii. News programmes should achieve this by setting out fresh information on
something that has happened, is happening (breaking news), or is about to
happen that is of concern, relevance or interest to the 5 Live audience
iii. For content on 5 Live to be defined as news, it should be presented with the
overriding intention of bringing forward fresh information and understanding;
it should aim to analyse, simplify, and engage the listener with the
complicated, make the obscure clearer and disentangle hype and spin from
core fact
iv. News can be reporter-mediated information, informed discussion and
debate, or mediated audience interaction about this
v. To be classed as news, discussion and audience interactivity should have a
current news impetus, a clear intent to add information and a declared aim
and purpose; it should not be aimless, repetitious and unrelated to the current
news agenda
vi. Mere conversation about the topical - offering no fresh fact, analysis or
interpretation – should not be classified as news
vii. 5 Live’s news output should be distinctive and of a high quality, with a focus
on topics such as crime, politics, business and consumer affairs stories which
are clearly considered ‘news’ by 5 Live’s listeners, and a corresponding lower
emphasis on TV, entertainment and celebrity stories
viii. Original and investigative journalism should be scheduled in a prominent
timeslot on a weekly basis and widely trailed by 5 Live, in order to bring it to
the widest possible audience
ix. 5 Live should draw extensively on the BBC’s network of international and UK
journalists
x. To be classed as a 5 Live news programme, around three quarters of an
individual programme’s output should be dedicated to news content (unless
the programme has a separate stated aim and a corresponding percentage
of news content)
BBC Radio 5 Live – Sport
xi. 5 Live’s sports output should focus on live coverage, or on news and analysis
which presents fresh information and understanding of current sports events
UTV Media (GB) response to „BBC Trust review of Radio 5 Live and Radio 5 Live Sports Extra‟ – July 11 6
BBC Radio 5 Live – Sport (continued)
xii. 5 Live should seek to distinguish itself from commercial sports media outlets by
minimising its reliance on studio chat and discussion, particularly about
popular sports such as football
xiii. Minority sports should make up at least 40% of 5 Live’s sports output,
comprising a minimum of 875 hours per year [level to be determined by BBC
Trust]
xiv. No single sport should be allowed to take up more than 40% of 5 Live’s sports
airtime, comprising a maximum of 875 hours per year [level to be determined
by BBC Trust]
xv. 5 Live should provide daily news and live coverage of minority sports fixtures
within its daily flagship sports programmes, including peak listening periods at
weekends
xvi. Minority sports should be defined as those sports which receive relatively low
levels of media coverage, but which can nevertheless demonstrate
meaningful levels of participation and support across the UK
xvii. As well as being scheduled at prominent times, minority sports coverage
should be properly signposted, making it easily ‘discoverable’ by listeners
xviii. 5 Live should seek to give prominence to women’s sports, as well as covering
men’s sports
xix. 5 Live should provide listeners with information about how they can
participate in the sports featured on air
xx. When faced with a choice between covering two different sports events,
one of which is likely to be covered elsewhere on UK radio, 5 Live should
incline towards the event which is less likely to receive coverage elsewhere
BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra
xxi. 5 Live Sports Extra should broadcast only when it can make better use of
existing sports rights already obtained for BBC radio
xxii. 5 Live Sports Extra should principally operate during major sporting events
rather than offering a regular schedule of output
xxiii. The BBC should never acquire rights specifically for use by 5 Live Sports Extra,
even if the rights are offered at low or minimal cost, or if there is no
competitive interest in the rights from commercial broadcasters
xxiv. Output should be restricted solely to live commentary, with repeat
commentaries / highlights restricted to BBC iPlayer where they can be better
accessed on a truly on-demand basis
xxv. If it is considered in the public interest for a minority sports event to be
covered on national BBC radio, then coverage should be scheduled on 5
Live
UTV Media (GB) response to „BBC Trust review of Radio 5 Live and Radio 5 Live Sports Extra‟ – July 11 7
BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra (continued)
xxvi. 5 Live Sports Extra should not broadcast Premier League football, except in
exceptional circumstances (such as when there is a major breaking news
event on 5 Live)
BBC Radio 5 Live and 5 Live Sports Extra – Value for money
xxvii. 5 Live and 5 Live Sports Extra should maximise their cost efficiency by avoiding
production expenditure which is unnecessary to delivering their respective
service licences
xxviii. 5 Live and 5 Live Sports Extra management should explore opportunities to
benchmark spending against the commercial sector
xxix. The BBC’s ongoing annual spending on radio sports rights should reflect a
meaningful reduction on 2010/11 spending levels, with the precise reduction
to be agreed with the BBC Trust
xxx. BBC radio should waive its right to exclusivity on any sports rights package
which it acquires by seeking to have exclusivity provisions removed from the
contracts it signs with rights owners
UTV Media (GB) response to „BBC Trust review of Radio 5 Live and Radio 5 Live Sports Extra‟ – July 11 8
3. About UTV Media (GB)
3.1. UTV Media (GB) is part of UTV Media plc, a leading converged UK and Irish media
business with television, radio, internet and publishing interests. Our operations in
Great Britain consist of:
The UK‟s only dedicated sports radio station, and current Sony Radio
Academy UK Station of the Year (talkSPORT)
13 local radio stations with growing local audiences
The UK‟s second largest men‟s magazine (Sport)
Substantial shareholdings in seven local and regional DAB multiplexes
Co-ownership of First Radio Sales, which represents around 116 local and
digital radio stations
UTV Media (GB) response to „BBC Trust review of Radio 5 Live and Radio 5 Live Sports Extra‟ – July 11 9
4. History of a „continuous news service‟
4.1. Scud FM and the clamour for 24 hour radio news
4.1.1. Despite possessing the best news-gathering operations in the world, in the 1980s
and early 1990s, the BBC had no outlet for continuous on-demand news. In
October 1987, a hurricane wreaked unanticipated devastation across the UK.
John Birt was appalled by BBC Radio 4‟s
response: “Why, when such an event had
impacted on our listeners, were we not
providing them with a continuing,
comprehensive coverage?”1
4.1.2. The BBC was more prepared when the
Gulf War started in 1991. Radio 4 News FM,
nicknamed „Scud FM‟, sprang into life and
provided dedicated coverage over the
next six weeks. “Now that the BBC has
created, instantly and effectively, an all-
news network, would it not be a tremendous waste to un-invent it?” asked Gillian
Reynolds2. The BBC agreed, identifying a 24 hour news service as a “major
priority” in an early 1990s strategic review entitled „Extending Choice‟3.
4.1.3. The BBC toyed with a number of models to deliver its continuous news vision.
Ideas included “a channel dedicated to parliament and special events” or “an
authoritative network with proper obituaries, like a serious daily newspaper,
whose backbone would be Today, PM, The World At One and The World
Tonight”4. A shortage of spectrum and a public campaign in support of Radio 4
Long Wave led the BBC to a third option: “Britain's first rolling news and sport
network” to take the place of Radio 55. The compromise model was championed
by the BBC‟s new Managing Director of Network Radio, Liz Folgan. In minutes of a
BBC Governors meeting, released to us under the Freedom of Information Act,
she is recorded as describing a “genuinely distinctive and creative editorial
concept” which would “expand the range of choice in speech radio”6.
4.1.4. Although some critics predicted that 5 Live‟s dual remit would lead to a “messy
risotto” of news and sport7, the network would be defined above all by its
commitment to news. Its Controller Jenny Abramsky promised that 5 Live would
be “always … first with the news”. The BBC‟s MD of News and Current Affairs, Tony
Hall, stressed the importance of being able to access news “whenever you like”8.
To support this vision, 5 Live would gain „news priority‟, meaning that BBC reporters
“had to offer [stories] to the rolling channel first”9. The move would ensure 5 Live
became the BBC‟s preeminent news outlet. It also gave 5 Live a unique role in UK
radio.
1 Jenny Abramsky, „Sound Matters – Lecture given at Exeter College, Oxford University‟, 31 January 2002 2 BBC Newswatch, „Radio 5 launches non-stop news‟,
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/newswatch/history/noflash/html/1990s.stm 3 Andrew Culf, „Five Goes Live with New Listeners Pledge‟, The Guardian, 29 March 1994 4 Paul Donovan, „All over the place‟, Sunday Times, 27 March 1994 5 Jenny Abramsky, „How Radio 5 Live came to life‟, The Times, 30 March 1994 6 Minutes of BBC Governors board meeting, 11 October 1993 (FOI reference RFI20110629) 7 Paul Donovan, „All over the place‟, Sunday Times, 27 March 1994 8 Alexandra Frean, „Radio's new voice greets the dawn‟, The Times, 29 March 1994 9James Silver, „We‟re not about commercial prattle‟, The Guardian, 21 May 2007
"Now that the BBC has created,
instantly and effectively, an all-
news network, would it not be a
tremendous waste to un-invent
it?"
Gillian Reynolds, Daily Telegraph, 1991
UTV Media (GB) response to „BBC Trust review of Radio 5 Live and Radio 5 Live Sports Extra‟ – July 11 10
4.1.5. From day one, it was clear that 5 Live‟s news coverage would be distinctive, but
with a seriousness at its core. Abramsky spoke to devising a “new tone” for radio
news programmes, and of being “engaging and accessible”10. However, the new
station would not be “tabloid radio”, instead positioning itself “between the Daily
Mail and the Guardian11. As one of 5 Live‟s founding editors later reflected, “our
aim was to make serious news
accessible”12.
4.1.6. 5 Live‟s founders envisaged a broad news
agenda, but rooted in serious subjects.
Abramsky promised to “expand the news
agenda so that our audience gains
access to information and discussion of
health, education, technology,
entertainment news”. 5 Live would also
ensure that “stories which are important in Manchester, Glasgow and Belfast are
told to the whole of the country.”13 The station would tackle “minority issues”, with
programmes for ethnic minorities and gay and lesbian listeners14.
4.1.7. It was also decided that sports programming would include a broad focus to
ensure that it had strong appeal for women as well as men. Coverage would
include sports such as tennis, athletics and golf, and specific sports magazine
programmes were also commissioned to attract a female audience15.
4.2. “News and Sport from the BBC 24 hours a day”
4.2.1. 5 Live launched on 28 March 1994 with Jane Garvey promising “News and Sport
from the BBC 24 hours a day” – a remit that would define 5 Live‟s first decade16.
Critics and listeners were quick to identify the new station‟s editorial focus. In the
Times, Paul Donovan quoted a Manchester taxi driver‟s description of 5 Live as
“Sky [News] on the radio”. Donovan added that “As if to prove the point, it was 5
Live which at 11.58am broke the dreadful news of the school murder in
Middlesbrough just after Sky News, but before any other BBC radio network”17.
4.2.2. Another early critic wrote of “proper news properly presented, at more length
than is available elsewhere”18. In the Independent, Robert Hanks reported on the
arrival of “news whenever you want it”. He noted a clear differentiation with
Radio 4; the new station was “easygoing and intimate”, with “more time for detail
and explanation”19. Inevitably there were sceptics, with Janet Daley describing a
station “presented with the forced chattiness of highly educated people trying to
sound common” – a reflection of 5 Live‟s mission to attract a distinct audience to
Radio 420. Yet the dissenters were in the minority.
10 BBC Newswatch, „Radio 5 launches non-stop news‟,
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/newswatch/history/noflash/html/1990s.stm 11 Maggie Brown, „Radio 5 takes good news cue from Martyn Lewis‟, The Independent, 17 March 1994 12 Tim Luckhurst, „Five Live - It's Radio Bloke from the BBC‟, The Independent, 18 February 2007 13 Alexandra Frean, „Radio Five denies unsporting tactics‟, The Times, 25 January 1994 14 Maggie Brown, „Radio 5 takes good news cue from Martyn Lewis‟, The Independent, 17 March 1994 15 Alexandra Frean, „Radio Five denies unsporting tactics‟, The Times, 25 January 1994 16 BBC College of Journalism, „Audio: the Launch of Radio 5 Live‟, 3 August 2009
http://www.bbc.co.uk/journalism/blog/2009/08/the-launch-of-radio-5-live.shtml 17 Paul Donovan, „And now for the good news‟, Sunday Times, 3 April 1994 18 Peter Barnard , „All the news that fades‟, The Times, 30 March 1994 19 Robert Hanks, „Radio newcomer gets familiar in the small hours‟, The Independent, 29 March 1994 20 Janet Daley, „Janet Daley Column‟, The Times, 31 March 1994
“Being able to tune in and get
the news whenever you like is
very important”
Tony Hall, BBC Managing
Director of News and Current Affairs, March 1994
UTV Media (GB) response to „BBC Trust review of Radio 5 Live and Radio 5 Live Sports Extra‟ – July 11 11
4.2.3. Within two years, 5 Live was named Station of the Year at the Sony Radio
Academy Awards. At around the same time, 5 Live Breakfast Editor Bill Rogers
enthused that his programme had “the real feel of news radio”, with his
production team able to “get the facts faster than anyone else and get them to
the audience before anyone else can”. He cited successes including 5 Live‟s
response to the Dunblane tragedy and the assassination of Yitzak Rabin21. The
success of 5 Live‟s news output was such
that Maggie Brown suggested that “Radio
5 Live‟s success in mixing serious news and
chat” could form the basis of a new BBC
24-hour television news channel22.
4.2.4. 5 Live did occasionally falter in its first
decade. In 2001, BBC Governors identified
listener concern that “news coverage was
lightweight at times”23. However, by 2002,
Stephen Barnett was able to hail 5 Live as
a station at the vanguard of efforts to “deliver politics to young people who are
bored with it and believe its practitioners are incompetent sleazebags”24.
4.2.5. Two years later, and 13 years on from Scud FM‟s coverage of an earlier Middle
East conflict, Bob Shennan cited the September 11 attacks and the Iraq war as
providing a “complete vindication” of the original vision for 5 Live. Styling himself
as “the controller of a news radio station”, Shennan argued that 5 Live had
“come of age”, with its news coverage going well beyond the “raw feed of press
conferences and discussions” broadcast by its short-lived predecessor25. In the first
48 hours of the Iraq War, the BBC even dropped a Manchester United Champions
League match in order to focus on rolling news, with a key clash between
Liverpool and Celtic moved to 5 Live Sports Extra26.
4.3. A broader agenda
4.3.1. If 5 Live‟s first decade saw the station hone a model for accessible news
programming mixed with live sport, its
second has witnessed a widening of its
editorial focus. 5 Live‟s Statement of
Programme Policy (SoPP) for 2010-11
spoke for the first time of “balancing the
news and sport with engaging
entertainment”27. This positioning has also
been reflected on-air and in off-air
marketing. As the Guardian‟s radio
correspondent John Plunkett reported in
April 2011, “5 Live … has been transformed
under its current Controller Adrian Van
21 Stephen Armstrong, „Enjoying the highs of Radio Five: Bill Rogers, Editor, The Breakfast Programme‟, PR Week,
18 October 1996 22 Maggie Brown, „More news, not pop culture, will attract BBC viewers‟, PR Week, 14 February 1997 23 BBC Governors, BBC Annual Report 2000/01, 2001, p. 35 24 Stephen Barnett, „So long to the bloke in the suit‟, The Guardian, 17 June 2002 25 John Plunkett, „Alive and kicking‟, The Guardian, 29 March 2004 26 Damien Cahill, „Choose sport or war‟, EMC's World of Sport, 17 July 2003,
http://www.transdiffusion.org/emc/worldofsport/playing_away.php 27 BBC Statements of Programme Policy 2010/11, p. 56-57
“[5 Live‟s] non-sports
programmes have been
redrawing the map of "doing"
politics on radio”
Professor Stephen Barnett, June 2002
“Both the Richard Bacon and
the Victoria Derbyshire
programme have consciously
broadened their agendas to
respond to listeners‟ interest in
[Entertainment and Comedy].”
BBC Statements of Programme Policy, 2010-11
UTV Media (GB) response to „BBC Trust review of Radio 5 Live and Radio 5 Live Sports Extra‟ – July 11 12
Klaveren”, with entertainment now a key strand within its schedule28. Interviewed
by Victoria Derbyshire in September 2010, Controller Adrian Van Klaveren
explained that he had made “quite a lot of changes” to ensure that 5 Live could
“do something entertaining as well as giving people information, as well as telling
people all the latest news and sport"29.
4.3.2. The BBC‟s rationale for adopting a broader editorial agenda for 5 Live is that it
has a responsibility to cover anything of contemporary interest to the public. Van
Klaveren argues that “5 Live talks about what matters to people, how they spend
their time, the things they are interested in”. This ranges from “serious subjects” to
“how people spend their weekends and what they consume”30.
4.3.3. 5 Live‟s current direction of travel arguably predates Van Klaveren‟s arrival as
Controller. In 2007, the Telegraph reported on Jane Garvey‟s departure from 5
Live by recalling a time when the station “uniquely concentrated solely on news
and sport”31. Meanwhile, Rachel Cooke wrote in the New Stateman that 5 Live
was growing “less informative by the day” and appeared “intent on replacing
news with hearsay and serious talk with flabby banter”. Cooke added, “OK, so its
ratings are mostly up. But can it be said to be fulfulling its news remit? No, it
can't”32.
4.3.4. Also in 2007, Tim Luckhurst (one of 5 Live‟s founding editors) wrote that 5 Live had
declined “from news pioneer to a bounteously funded competitor for
commercial chat radio”. Luckhurst wrote that “Much of what is now categorised
as news is really gossip. Accessible journalism has ceded ground to
condescending populism”. A 5 Live insider described an “internal revolution”
within 5 Live, which no longer saw itself as a news station but as “sport and talk”33.
4.3.5. Although Luckhurst‟s criticism prompted accusations of sour grapes from ex-
colleagues, Bob Shennan conceded that the emergence of rolling news on other
outlets had “forced us to evolve and that has had an impact on the threshold for
news stories.” He argued that since its launch, 5 Live had suffered “a dilemma
about what to transmit when there is no continuous breaking story”, explaining
that the BBC had taken a decision to place an increased emphasis on “news that
evolves from our close, democratic and
informal relationship with our audience”34.
4.3.6. Shennan‟s premise was that audience
interaction had a role to play in 5 Live‟s
news output. Examples of this operating at
its best include the recent interview with
Kenneth Clarke which led to changes in
Government sentencing policy35. Yet there is also evidence that 5 Live is
increasingly seeking listener input on a range of more trivial subjects. In June 2011,
listeners contacted Radio 4‟s Feedback programme to highlight a number of
recent examples on Tony Livesey‟s programme, including „Have you been
28 MediaGuardian, „Media Talk podcast: Radio 5 Live, phone hacking, and Simon Cowell‟, 15 April 2011 29 BBC Radio 5 Live, Victoria Derbyshire interview with Adrian Van Klaveren, 15 September 2010 30 BBC Radio 5 Live, Victoria Derbyshire interview with Adrian Van Klaveren, 15 September 2010 31 Richard Alleyne, „Jane Garvey resigns from BBC Radio Five Live‟, Telegraph, 14 September 2007 32 Rachel Cooke, „Babble is the enemy of all good radio‟, New Statesman, 12 March 2007 33 Tim Luckhurst, „Five Live - It's Radio Bloke from the BBC‟, The Independent, 18 February 2007 34James Silver, „We‟re not about commercial prattle‟, The Guardian, 21 May 2007 35 BBC, „In full: Ken Clarke interview on rape sentencing‟, 18 May 2011, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-
13444770
“Have you been chased by an
animal?”
5 Live interactive topic, as cited on Radio 4 Feedback, June 2011
UTV Media (GB) response to „BBC Trust review of Radio 5 Live and Radio 5 Live Sports Extra‟ – July 11 13
chased by an animal?‟, „What have you had to carry recently?‟ and „Is Lady
Gaga overrated?‟36
36 BBC Radio 4, „Feedback‟, 10 June 2011
UTV Media (GB) response to „BBC Trust review of Radio 5 Live and Radio 5 Live Sports Extra‟ – July 11 14
5. 5 Live should recapture its „continuous news‟ mission
5.1. „Sports and a bit of news‟
5.1.1. By 2010 it was increasingly unclear on what basis 5 Live could claim to deliver
around 75% news, as required by its service licence37. This requirement first
appeared in the station‟s 2002/03
Statement of Programme Policy but its
origins can be traced to the very
beginning of 5 Live38. At launch, 5 Live had
promised “more than 40 hours of sports
reports a week” (or 24% of the
schedule)39. In 2001 Bob Shennan claimed
that news represented “up to 80%” of 5
Live‟s output40.
5.1.2. In May 2010, we submitted analysis to BBC management which indicated that just
45% of 5 Live‟s output across weekdays and weekends consisted of news, which
we defined as „information or analysis related to recent or ongoing current affairs
events or issues‟ (including input from listeners). This rose to 48% if travel and
weather bulletins were defined as news, and to just 56% if sports news and live
sports updates were also included. The worst performing programmes included
those presented by Richard Bacon and Gabby Logan, with 36% and 42% news
respectively41.
Figure 1. 5 Live Output Breakdown
Source: UTV Media analysis, May 2010
5.1.3. Our formal submission was given short shrift by BBC management, who
concluded their response to us after seven months by supplying a written note
outlining the basis on which it defines programmes such as Richard Bacon as
37 BBC Radio Five Live Service Licence, May 2010 38 BBC Governors, BBC Annual Report 2002/03, 2003 39 Alexandra Frean, „Radio's new voice greets the dawn‟, The Times, 29 March 1994 40 Matt Wells, „Batting for Sport‟, The Guardian, 26 March 2001 41 Measuring actual annual performance over the year would be impractical, so we based our analysis on a
representative 48 hours of output.
News
45%
Travel /
weather
3%
Sport
37%
Other speech
13%
Production
2%
"A newspaper consists of just the
same number of words, whether
there be any news in it or not."
Henry Fielding (1707 - 1754)
UTV Media (GB) response to „BBC Trust review of Radio 5 Live and Radio 5 Live Sports Extra‟ – July 11 15
„news programmes‟ and counts their entire minutage towards its annual news
threshold. Our impression is that this note was prepared specifically to answer our
complaint, rather than because it represented an existing tool to establish 5 Live‟s
news policy. On the basis of this methodology, the BBC argued that it was
compliant with its service licence.
5.1.4. In its ruling on our appeal the Trust acknowledged that we had raised some
“significant and valid questions about what constitutes news on 5 Live and how
broadly an individual „news‟ programme on 5 Live should go in its delivery of
news”. However the Trust was unable to uphold our complaint, on the basis that
“by the current method of reporting and definition used” (i.e. classifying the
entirety of programmes such as Richard Bacon as news) 5 Live was achieving 75%
news each year.
5.1.5. Although we disagree that 5 Live delivers 75% news, we sympathise with the
Trust‟s ruling, since at present the 5 Live service licence does not define what is
and is not acceptable for inclusion in news programmes. In fact as we explain in
sub-section 5.5, 5 Live‟s service licence contains considerably less clarity about
expectations of the service, and fewer annual quantitative commitments, than
those of many other BBC services. Furthermore, our complaint revealed that there
is not a culture of carefully defined news delivery within 5 Live. BBC management
do not appear to have defined their expectations of production staff in terms of
news content on individual programmes42.
5.1.6. The Trust‟s conclusion that the 5 Live service review would need to provide
“greater clarity” in terms of news has prompted us to suggest amendments to 5
Live‟s service licence. Our overarching proposal is that 5 Live‟s news programmes
should expand upon the major national and international news headlines of the
day whilst covering important stories that are neglected elsewhere in the
mainstream news media. This proposal, together with supporting detail, is
presented in Section 2 of this response and explained below. We outline four sets
of analysis to demonstrate why the Trust should accept these amendments:
Independent polling conducted by BritainThinks reveals that 5 Live‟s own
listeners no longer see it as a news service; they also believe that it should
do more serious news
A third-party assessment of 5 Live‟s output by Robin Britten reveals that the
threshold for news in BBC „news programmes‟ is too low, against any
objective definition of news, setting out some suggested minimum
expectations of 5 Live news programmes
5 Live no longer occupies distinctive ground within the speech radio
market – it has abandoned its original unique mission of providing universal
access to news on the radio whenever listeners want it in pursuit of the
maximum audience reach
The news requirements set out in 5 Live‟s service licence are currently
inadequately aligned with those of other leading networks for BBC news
coverage, such as BBC One and BBC News
5.1.7. The Trust‟s scrutiny of our complaint was welcomed by observers such as Maggie
Brown, who said “it‟s been pretty clear to those of us who have been listening to
Radio 5 since it began that it has slipped a long way from its original promise. It is
actually meant to be doing 75% news and even if you define that loosely it‟s
42 BBC Trust, „General Appeals Finding‟, April 2011
UTV Media (GB) response to „BBC Trust review of Radio 5 Live and Radio 5 Live Sports Extra‟ – July 11 16
pretty clear that it‟s actually not living up to what it should be doing.” Brown
added “I think it‟s gone for ratings. I think it‟s lost its way”43.
5.1.8. Amending BBC Radio 5 Live‟s service licence as we propose below can spark a
change in culture within 5 Live to coincide with its move to new studios in Salford.
Our suggested changes would leave no ambiguity about 5 Live‟s objectives.
Rather than chasing ratings or competing with commercial stations, 5 Live would
gain a distinctive public service focus imbued with the values of the BBC‟s
„Quality First‟ strategy.
5.2. 5 Live‟s listeners believe it should do more serious news
5.2.1. In May 2011, 5 Live‟s Head of Marketing revealed that according to the station‟s
own market research, “People think that we just do sports and a bit of news”. She
highlighted this finding to justify a new
marketing campaign showcasing the
range of other topics now covered by 5
Live44. This insight also backs up the findings
of independent research undertaken by
BritainThinks which found that 5 Live‟s
listeners see it as a sport station rather than
a station delivering 75% news, but that
they have an appetite for more serious news.
5.2.2. For its „audience perspective‟ on 5 Live, which was commissioned by UTV Media
as part of this review, BritainThinks polled 1,000 BBC Radio 5Live listeners online
between 1st & 6th April 2011. All listened to Radio 5 Live for at least 1 hour per
week. Data was weighted to be representative of all Radio 5 Live listeners in terms
of age, gender and SEG. The complete report and findings comprise separate
annexes to this submission and have already been supplied to the BBC Trust.
BritainThinks‟ key findings were as follows:
BBC Radio 5 Live listeners are over five times more likely to associate the
station with sport than news (when asked the first word that comes to
mind when thinking of BBC Radio 5 Live, 33% said sport, against 6% who
said news)
On average, listeners estimate that 38% of broadcast time on BBC Radio 5
Live is dedicated to news, which is around half of its licence requirement
of 75%
Listeners estimate that 45% of airtime is dedicated to sport – more than the
38% they estimate is dedicated to news
Moreover, only half (52%) of the total airtime dedicated to news on 5 Live -
i.e. less than 20% of its content overall - is thought to be „serious news‟
content
Half (49%) of 5 Live listeners agree that, given that it is funded by the
licence fee, it should focus more on serious news stories. 22% disagree.45
43 MediaGuardian, „Media Talk podcast: Radio 5 Live, phone hacking, and Simon Cowell‟, 15 April 2011 44 Ariel, „Cameras follow news and sport network all this week‟, 21 March 2011 45 BritainThinks, „BBC Radio 5 Live: An Audience Perspective‟, April 2011
“News is what somebody
somewhere wants to suppress;
all the rest is advertising.”
Lord Northcliffe (1865-1922)
UTV Media (GB) response to „BBC Trust review of Radio 5 Live and Radio 5 Live Sports Extra‟ – July 11 17
5.2.3. BritainThinks poll also enabled scrutiny of BBC management to categorise certain
programmes as news programmes which our 2010 analysis indicated had low
levels of news content. BritainThinks found that listeners clearly consider some of 5
Live‟s non-sport programmes to be „news programmes‟. As Figure 2 shows, 5 Live‟s
most listened-to programmes are Breakfast and Drive, and a large majority of
listeners consider these to be „news programmes‟.
Figure 2. Listener classifications of 5 Live programmes as „news programmes‟
Would you mainly consider the following programmes to be a news programme, or another sort of
programme?
* Stephen Nolan, Up All Night and Tony Livesey assessed collectively as ‘Overnight programming’
Source: Britain Thinks April 2011 / RAJAR analysis (Q1 2011)
5.2.4. As this data shows, other programmes considered to be „news programmes‟ by a
majority of 5 Live‟s listeners include Pienaar‟s Politics, 5 Live Investigates and
91%
91%
85%
79%
73%
67%
49%
47%
35%
32%
32%
32%
20%
17%
14%
9%
9%
15%
21%
27%
33%
51%
53%
65%
68%
68%
68%
80%
83%
86%
5 Live Breakfast (Mon - Fri 06.00 - 09.00)
Morning Reports / Wake Up To Money
(Mon - Sun 05.00 - 06.00)
Pienaar's Politics (Sun 19.00 - 20.00)
5 Live Drive (Mon - Fri 16.00 - 19.00)
Weekend Breakfast (Sat 06.00 - 09.00, Sun
06.00 - 08.30)
5 Live Investigates (Sun 21.00 - 22.00)
5 Live Breakfast - Your Call (Mon - Fri 09.00
- 10.00)
Victoria Derbyshire (10.00-12.00 Mon - Fri)
Gabby Logan (12.00-14.00 Mon - Fri)
Tony Livesey (Mon - Thurs 22.30-01.00) *
Up All Night (Mon - Sun 01.00-05.00) *
Stephen Nolan (Fri - Sun 22.00 - 01.00) *
Richard Bacon (Mon - Thurs 14.00 - 16.00)
Fighting Talk (Sat 11.00 - 12.00)
Danny Bacon / Christian O'Connell (Sat
09.00 - 11.00)
News Not News Weekly Reach
715,000
545,000
1,170,000
727,000
598,000
867,000
1,432,000
1,493,000
1,298,000
116,000
1,080,000
2,032,000
248,000
561,000
2,412,000
UTV Media (GB) response to „BBC Trust review of Radio 5 Live and Radio 5 Live Sports Extra‟ – July 11 18
Morning Reports. However, the times at which these three programmes are
scheduled (Sunday evenings and 5am weekday mornings) means that listeners
are much less likely to listen to them. In Q1 2011, just 116,000 people heard 5 Live
Investigates (Sundays 9-10pm) every week. In other words, just 1.7% of 5 Live‟s
total audience (less than one in fifty 5 Live listeners) currently listens to its main
investigative journalism strand. This is by far the lowest reach for any single
programming strand on 5 Live.
5.2.5. The finding that hardly any 5 Live listeners hear its investigative journalism
programming should be considered alongside one of the key findings from our
May 2010 analysis of 5 Live‟s output. We found that 5 Live‟s investigative
journalism was not only poorly scheduled, it was also never signposted in the large
number of programming trails carried during the 48 hours of output we monitored
as part of our service licence complaint to management. Instead, programming
trails promoted football coverage, ways to listen to 5 Live, Formula 1 and the
BBC‟s Sport Relief promotion. We surmised that this reflected a low prioritisation
given to bringing original stories to air on 5 Live.
5.2.6. By way of comparison, the programming strand with the highest weekly reach on
5 Live is 5 Live Sport on weekday evenings (Monday – Friday, 7 – 10.30pm / 10pm),
with a reach of 2.8m (42.2% of 5 Live‟s total weekly audience). The single
programme with the highest reach across the week is the Saturday edition of 5
Live Sport, which attracts 2.4m listeners between 12.00 and 17.15 (36.4% of 5 Live‟s
total weekly audience).
5.2.7. Although programmes such as Breakfast and 5 Live Investigates scored highly for
news, at other places in 5 Live‟s schedule, it is less clear that individual
programme strands comprise „news programmes‟. In general, listeners were
much less likely to consider that 5 Live‟s weekday daytime and overnight
schedules consist of news programmes. That only 20% of listeners consider Richard
Bacon‟s programme to be a „news programme‟ raises particularly significant
issues for the BBC, given that the BBC classifies it as one for the purposes of
reporting on its service licence compliance to the BBC Trust – a position which
now appears untenable. Similarly, only 32% of listeners thought that 5 Live‟s
overnight programming consisted of news programmes.
5.2.8. Comparing the BritainThinks findings against RAJAR audience data for 5 Live also
reveals a range of significant insights:
The programmes defined as „news programmes‟ by 5 Live management46
currently reach 72% of 5 Live‟s weekly audience, and account for 65% of 5
Live‟s listening hours.
However, those programmes which around half (>45%) or more of 5 Live‟s
listeners define as „news programmes‟47 only reach 63% of 5 Live listeners
every week, and account for just 43% of 5 Live‟s weekly listening hours.
46 Programmes defined as „news programmes‟ by 5 Live management at at 25 February 2011 comprised Up All
Night, Morning Reports, Wake Up to Money, Breakfast inc Your Call, Victoria Derbyshire, Gabby Logan /
Shelagh Fogarty, Richard Bacon, Drive, Tony Livesey, Mayo and Kermode, Stephen Nolan, Weekend Breakfast,
Saturday Edition, Kate Silverton, Pienaar‟s Politics, On the Money and 5 Live Investigates 47 Programmes which at least 45% of 5 Live listeners defined as „news programmes‟ comprise Victoria
Derbyshire, Your Call, 5 Live Investigates, Weekend Breakfast, Drive, Pienaar‟s Politics, Morning Reports / Wake
Up to Money and Breakfast. 5 Live Money (Sun 20.00 –21.00), which was not assessed by BritainThinks, has also
been included in this group.
UTV Media (GB) response to „BBC Trust review of Radio 5 Live and Radio 5 Live Sports Extra‟ – July 11 19
5 Live‟s peaktime programmes, Breakfast and Drive, are the only two
widely listened-to programmes of 5 Live which are defined as „news
programmes‟ by at least 75% of listeners. Together, these two programmes
reach 48% of 5 Live listeners every week, but they only account for 25% of
weekly listening hours.
The programming which reaches the highest proportion of 5 Live‟s
audience every week is not 5 Live‟s news output. In fact, its sport
programmes attract a slightly higher weekly reach – 73% of 5 Live listeners
– despite comprising less than a quarter of weekly minutage. 5 Live‟s sport
programmes also attract a disproportionate volume of listening,
accounting for 32% of total listening hours48.
5.2.9. These findings are showcased in Figure 3.
Figure 3. More people hear 5 Live‟s sport programmes every week than hear its news
programmes
Source: BBC management / Britain Thinks April 2011 / RAJAR analysis (Q1 2011)
5.2.10. BritainThinks‟ analysis also provided a clear indication of the type of content that
a programme needs to include to be classified as a news programme.
BritainThinks found that crime, politics, business and consumer affairs stories are
clearly considered „news‟, whilst TV, entertainment and celebrity stories are
considered „not news‟ by a clear majority of 5 Live‟s audience (see Figure 4).
5.2.11. Interestingly, the former topics have been at the heart of 5 Live‟s output since it
launched, whereas the latter have only been emphasised more recently. BBC
48 Sport programmes are scheduled at the following times: Mon – Thurs 19.00-22.30, Fri 19.00-22.00, Sat 12.00 –
20.00, Sun 08.30-09.30 and 12.00 – 19.00
72%
63%
48%
73% 65%
43%
25% 32%
Defined as 'news
programme' by BBC
management
Considered to be a 'news
programme' by at least
45% of 5 Live listeners
Breakfast and Drive Sport programmes
% weekly reach amongst 5 Live audience % 5 Live total listening hours
UTV Media (GB) response to „BBC Trust review of Radio 5 Live and Radio 5 Live Sports Extra‟ – July 11 20
Governors board minutes from 17 March 1994 – days before the launch of the
new network – describe 5 Live‟s daytime output at launch as including “a daily
round-up of European news, as well as regular features on health, science, the
environment and natural history” (all scheduled in daytime), “coverage of
Parliament”, “extensive business coverage throughout the day” and “guidance
on personal finance”. Across the schedule there were slots for regional, UK and
international news output, and even “a weekly documentary from Scotland”49.
There is no mention of entertainment, TV or celebrity coverage.
Figure 4. Listeners have clear ideas about what types of content they would classify as
„news‟ on a BBC radio station
Q. Imagine each of the following were being broadcast on a BBC radio station. Which of the following types of
output would you classify as 'news'?
Source: BritainThinks April 2011
5.2.12. A further significant finding from this research on listener definitions of news is that
just under half (46%) of 5 Live‟s listeners believe that a “phone-in about politics,
49 Minutes of BBC Governors board meeting, 17 March 1994 (FOI reference RFI20110629)
96%
94%
93%
88%
88%
78%
78%
73%
69%
61%
52%
46%
46%
37%
35%
34%
30%
20%
20%
17%
17%
16%
16%
10%
4%
6%
7%
12%
12%
22%
22%
27%
31%
39%
48%
54%
54%
63%
65%
66%
70%
80%
80%
83%
83%
84%
84%
90%
Details of a crime committed in the UK
Information about international politics or current events
Information about UK politics and current events
City, business and financial issues
Sports headlines
Traffic and travel update
Weather forecast
Live update from a sports event
Interview with a politician
Consumer affairs issues (e.g. personal finance, spending …
Human interest stories (e.g. real life stories about …
Live sports commentary
Phone-in about politics, crime or current events
Preview of a sports fixture
Interview with a sportsperson
Music, book or film review
Entertainment stories
Phone-in about sporting events
Stories about celebrities
A funny or interesting story from a presenter
Interview with a celebrity
A funny or interesting story from a listener
Discussion about what was on TV last night
Comedy
News
Not news
UTV Media (GB) response to „BBC Trust review of Radio 5 Live and Radio 5 Live Sports Extra‟ – July 11 21
crime or current events” is news. This also tallies with a decision by just over 50% of
listeners to categorise Breakfast – Your Call as „not news‟. Both Robin Britten‟s
report and the 2010 UTV Media analysis generally took the decision to categorise
such material as „news‟, in recognition that some phone-in material can consist of
news. However these findings clearly reveal that it is inappropriate to categorise
all phone-in material as news – even if it focuses on serious news subjects.
5.2.13. This is relevant because 5 Live management‟s current definition of appears to
categorise all interactivity about news topics as „news‟. In the one-page
document presented to UTV during our formal complaint about 5 Live‟s service
licence compliance, 5 Live management imply that all audience interactivity
should be classified as news, citing the service licence requirement that the
station should “encourage listeners to interact with the service and share their
opinions for example via phone-ins, text messages and emails”. BritainThinks
findings provide a clear indication that this blanket approach is unjustified. We
develop this point further in the following sub-section of this submission.
5.3. Independent academic assessment of 5 Live‟s output has shown that the threshold
for news in BBC „news programmes‟ is too low, against any objective definition of
news
5.3.1. To further inform our submission to this review, UTV Media commissioned an
independent academic assessment of 5 Live‟s output from Robin Britten, a former
News Editor at BBC Radio 5 Live who is now a visiting lecturer in journalism at the
University of Staffordshire. Britten was
selected on the basis of his reputation as
a respected news practitioner who is now
recognised as an academic expert in
journalism.
5.3.2. Britten listened to a complete week‟s
output from Monday 9th – Sunday 15th
May and drew independent conclusions
about the delivery of news. This week was
selected to be representative of normal
output. It is worth noting that the week in
question fell during the period of 5 Live service review consultation – i.e.
management will have been aware of the likelihood of heightened public
scrutiny during this period. The complete report is supplied as an annex to this
submission.
5.3.3. Robin Britten‟s report had two objectives: to establish what percentage of 5 Live‟s
output could be considered to be news, and to offer conclusions as to the
minimum expectations of programmes defined by 5 Live as „news programmes‟.
It is worth noting that whilst Britten included 5 Live‟s sport programmes in his news
content analysis, he restricted his detailed conclusions and recommendations to
5 Live‟s news programmes.
5.3.4. Britten found that:
The percentage of news across the week was 50.1%, which increased to
58.9% if the sport summaries broadcast at the top and bottom of the hour
and all trails were also included.
“If the BBC won‟t define news,
can production teams be clear
about what they are
producing?”
Robin Britten, Visiting Lecturer in
Journalism, University of Staffordshire, July 2011
UTV Media (GB) response to „BBC Trust review of Radio 5 Live and Radio 5 Live Sports Extra‟ – July 11 22
On individual weekdays, the percentage of news ranged between 54.7%
and 58.4%, or between 58.6% and 67.5% if sport summaries and trails were
included.
On Saturday and Sunday, the percentage of content which was news
was 30% and 39% respectively, or 39% and 48% including sport summaries
and trails50.
5.3.5. To produce these findings, Britten defined news as “information about something
that has happened, is happening, or is about to happen” (he produced a further
definition, setting out suggested minimum expectations of 5 Live‟s news
programmes, at the conclusion of the project). His categorisation of news content
included discussion, analysis, debate, and audience interactivity, as well as
menus/openers stabs/stings, weather and travel.
5.3.6. Britten mentions in a number of instances that he gave 5 Live the “benefit of the
doubt” in categorising output as news, recognising that news definitions are not
currently defined for BBC production staff. Non-news output was assigned to one
of two other categories: Sport and Magazine / Chat, with the latter defined as
“items that have no current news topicality, or are simply interviews with celebs
selected off the PR publicity circuit”.
5.3.7. Based on his analysis, Britten offered the following conclusions:
There is a desperate need for clearer definition of what comprises news for
5 Live.
If the BBC won‟t define news, can production teams be clear about what
they are producing?
There is a growing confusion between topicality and news.
There is a growing blurring of distinction between informed discussion or
debate, and chat. And this blurring is being built into programme formats.
5.3.8. As well as reviewing news content across 5 Live‟s schedules in totality, Britten also
analysed individual programmes, some of which rated highly for news.
Quantitative conclusions are set out in Figure 5.
50 The decision to calculate a higher proportion of news content which includes all trails reflects the
methodological approach used by the BBC in answering our complaint in June 2010. This should not be taken
as an indication that Britten necessarily agrees that „trails‟ can be classified as news.
UTV Media (GB) response to „BBC Trust review of Radio 5 Live and Radio 5 Live Sports Extra‟ – July 11 23
Figure 5. Robin Britten analysis of news content within individual 5 Live programmes
Source: Robin Britten analysis for UTV Media (GB), July 2011. Analysis based on 9 – 16 May 2011. Excludes sport
summaries and trails.
5.3.9. Britten‟s individual programme analysis was also backed by qualitative insights.
Britten found that 5 Live Breakfast and Drive “ooze news”, with news clearly “their
starting point” and “what they are there for”. These programmes are also praised
for using “banter/chat/interactivity” to “enhance … their core purpose;
presenting accessible, digestible comprehensible news”. Elsewhere, Victoria
Derbyshire‟s programme is described – the Monday Music Review aside – as
having “news stamped through its core”.
5.3.10. At other points in the schedule, Britten
found that it was less clear that individual
programmes could be described as „news
programmes‟. Richard Bacon‟s
programme is described as having “by far
the lowest news content of the daytime
output”, which is attributed to the fact that
“the spine of the programme is the
celebrity guest interview”, with guests
apparently “straight off the celebrity PR
circuit” and using their appearances on 5
Live as a means of “plugging their wares”.
Britten surmised that this “can be very effective light entertainment. But it is not
news.”
76.1%
83.0%
64.9%
21.1%
79.4%
58.7%
4.1%
11.5%
10.8%
5.0%
40.5%
6.0%
92.0%
9.0%
4.0%
89.1%
91.8%
8.0%
54.10%
Breakfast (06.00 - 10.00/09.00/08.30 Mon - Sun)
Victoria Derbyshire (10.00 - 12.00 Mon - Fri)
Sheila Fogarty (12.00 - 14.00 Mon - Fri)
R Bacon / Mayo & Kermode (14.00 - 16.00 Mon - Fri)
Drive (16.00 - 19.00 Mon - Fri)
T Livesey / S Nolan (22.00/22.30 - 01.00 Mon - Fri)
5 Live Sport weekdays (19.00 - 22.00/22.30 Mon - Fri)
Danny Baker / Christian O'Connell (09.00 - 11.00 Sat)
Fighting Talk (11.00 - 12.00 Sat)
5 Live Sport Saturday (12.00 - 18.00 Sat)
Saturday Edition (20.00 - 21.00 Sat)
Sportsweek (08.30 - 09.30 Sun)
Tony Livesey Sunday Morning (09.30 - 11.00 Sun)
The Back End of Next Week (11.00 - 12.00 Sun)
5 Live Sport Sunday (12.00 - 19.00 Sun)
Pienaar's Politics (19.00 - 20.00 Sun)
On the Money (20.00 - 21.00 Sun)
Men's Hour (21.00 - 22.00 Sun)
Up All Night (01.00 - 05.00 Mon - Sun)
“I‟m not sure that a lot of
people would disagree that
Richard Bacon‟s programme,
entertaining as it is, does not
necessarily qualify as a news
programme – hard news or soft
news.”
John Plunkett, MediaGuardian podcast, April 2011
UTV Media (GB) response to „BBC Trust review of Radio 5 Live and Radio 5 Live Sports Extra‟ – July 11 24
5.3.11. It is worth noting that Britten‟s analysis of slots such as 2-4pm on weekdays focuses
not on the identity of the presenter, but the editorial content of the programme.
Although Richard Bacon arrived at 5 Live with a background in music and
entertainment presenting, his predecessor Simon Mayo also lacked journalistic
experience before joining 5 Live. Yet in the BBC‟s 2001 Annual Report,
management hailed Mayo‟s afternoon programme as having brought “a new
approach to politics coverage”51. Britten‟s analysis identifies no explicit
weaknesses with Richard Bacon as a presenter of a news programme, so much
as with his programme‟s editorial focus – regular features answer listeners‟ DIY
queries or provide a platform for complaints about everyday life (the „Moan In‟).
5.3.12. Elsewhere, Britten‟s assessment of individual 5 Live programmes highlights the
dominance of “chat” on Tony Livesey‟s programme, adding “by far the majority
of subjects listeners are encouraged to call about are hardly even tenuously
related to the current news agenda, let alone directly related”. Subjects cited
include “What‟s your most pathetic injury?” and “Where have you been that‟s
later turned up on TV?” Britten concludes that “The time spent talking about them
can only be classified as chat”.
5.3.13. Britten also identified issues with Sheila Fogarty‟s midday programme, with items
such as the Five Life panel offering “subject matter … which is so broad, so non-
news tied that it simply can‟t be categorized as news”. Britten adds that the
midday programme exhibits an “increasing reliance on turning to others in the
studio to chat and fill time. Chat is
beginning to take the place of news.”
5.3.14. Britten‟s commentary on Up All Night
identifies the dilemma which lies at the
heart of much of 5 Live‟s output, but also
begins to point towards a solution. Britten
finds that “for the most part their starting
point is news; interesting and important
stories from around the world”. However
he adds that “even Up All Night is starting
to produce fixed slots that can in no way
be seen as news, however tenuously one interprets news”, citing the Virtual Book
Club, Dr. Carl, a half hour on new music, film discussion and World Music charts.
5.3.15. Britten‟s conclusion, based on Up All Night, is that 5 Live‟s delivery of news is
determined by the “fixed slots” that are scheduled within individual „news
programmes‟. Britten explains that “Spot news can be hard to come by. But news
there always is. And it is certainly accessible through a newsgathering operation
as large the BBC‟s”. He criticises 5 Live for scheduling fixed slots which “by their
very nature are never going to be anything more than chat-based”. Britten adds
“Perhaps the lesson is this: have news - backed by a clear station view of what
news is - as your starting point and as likely as not you will produce it. And it won‟t
come at the cost of sacrificing some of the things that station holds dear; humour,
interactivity, originality of editorial treatment”.
5.3.16. A number of additional qualitative insights are discernible from Britten‟s analysis,
from the detailed appendices to his report:
51 BBC Governors, BBC Annual Report 2001/02, 2002, p. 27
“By far the majority of subjects
listeners are encouraged to call
about are hardly even tenuously
related to the current news
agenda”
Robin Britten on Tony Livesey‟s programme, July 2011
UTV Media (GB) response to „BBC Trust review of Radio 5 Live and Radio 5 Live Sports Extra‟ – July 11 25
Saturday Edition and Weekend Breakfast – the two main „news
programmes‟ scheduled on Saturdays when output is otherwise
dominated by Sport – have relatively low news content.
For the former, Britten classified only 40.5% of content as „news‟. For the
latter, Britten outlined a range of qualitative comments, highlighting a
“definable difference” between Weekend Breakfast and other 5 Live
news programmes, with a higher volume of “chat” and a delay in
“getting to hard news stories”. On Saturday 14 May, the presenters told
listeners “We‟re talking FA Cup final all morning now”. Out of the eight
other stories covered, three were described “soft” news: a film showing
in a village, the Beckhams‟ choice of godparents and the Eurovision
Song Contest.
Men‟s Hour largely consists of a “variety of non-news chat-based items”
aimed at a male audience
5 Live‟s trails are predominantly about non-news subjects. Britten
records them as having promoted the likes of Tony Livesey‟s
programme, football output, BBC One‟s The Apprentice, Radio 2,
Formula 1 coverage, Sheila Fogarty‟s programme, 5 Live‟s digital
platforms and the BBC Trust‟s service review. As highlighted above,
Britten took the decision to present a „news‟ figure for 5 Live which
includes trails, since in their 2010 response to our complaint, the BBC
classified trails as news. Britten‟s record of trail topics indicates to us
that this approach is flawed.
5.3.17. Based on his analysis of news content Britten has developed a more detailed
recommendation as to appropriate definitions for 5 Live news content. This is set
out below and is also built into our suggested service licence amendments, as set
out in section 2 and at the end of this section:
UTV Media (GB) response to „BBC Trust review of Radio 5 Live and Radio 5 Live Sports Extra‟ – July 11 26
Figure 6. Robin Britten recommendation on 5 Live news definitions.
5.3.18. Robin Britten‟s recommendation is given further explanation and context in his
report, but there are a couple of key points worth emphasising:
Britten‟s core recommendation is that news content is defined by its
intention – and specifically whether it is intended to bring forward „fresh
information and understanding‟.
Britten‟s report also reflects the finding by BritainThinks (referenced at
5.2.12 - 5.2.13) that audience interaction items such as phone-ins
cannot always be classified as news. Britten accordingly recommends
that “to be classed as news, discussion should have a current news
impetus, a clear intent to add information and a declared aim and
purpose; it should not be aimless, repetitious and unrelated to the
current news agenda”.
More than anything 5 Live needs a clear and unambiguous definition of what the BBC considers
to be news and, based on my analysis, I am proposing the following:
News is:
Fresh information on something that has happened, is happening (breaking news), or is about
to happen that is of concern, relevance or interest to the 5 Live audience.
News can be reporter-mediated information, informed discussion and debate, or mediated
audience interaction about this.
But for content on 5 Live to be defined as news, whether it comes from the lighter
entertainment end of the spectrum or the more serious realm of public or international affairs, it
should be presented with the overriding intention of bringing forward fresh information and
understanding; it should aim to analyse, simplify, and engage the listener with the complicated,
make the obscure clearer and disentangle hype and spin from core fact.
To be classed as news, discussion and audience interactivity should have a current news
impetus, a clear intent to add information and a declared aim and purpose; it should not be
aimless, repetitious and unrelated to the current news agenda.
Mere conversation about the topical - offering no fresh fact, analysis or interpretation - is not
news.
To be classed as a 5 Live news programme, around three quarters of an individual
programme‟s output should be dedicated to news content (unless the programme has a
separate stated aim and a corresponding percentage of news content).
UTV Media (GB) response to „BBC Trust review of Radio 5 Live and Radio 5 Live Sports Extra‟ – July 11 27
5.4. 5 Live‟s abandonment of its continuous news remit means that it no longer
occupies distinctive ground within the wider radio market
5.4.1. The third reason why we have proposed amendments to 5 Live‟s service licence
in the area of news is that it will allow the station to regain the distinctive position it
once occupied within the overall radio market.
5.4.2. A desire to deliver something unique was at the heart of the planning process for
BBC Radio 5 Live prior to its launch in March 1994. Indeed recently disclosed BBC
Governors minutes reveal that the decision to launch the station with just six
months notice was taken to ensure that the new network was up and running
“before any commercial company was able to offer a competing service”. A
new national commercial speech licence (now held by talkSPORT) was due to be
awarded in 1994, and it is recorded that BBC Governors noted “the likelihood that
if the BBC did not start a news channel, someone else would”, such as London
News Radio (now LBC)52.
5.4.3. Accordingly, when 5 Live was launched in 1994, it did so with a news and sport
format that was unique: “Nobody else does it,” said Controller Jenny Abramsky53.
With a gap in the market for a national radio news service now no longer existing,
the successful applicant for the national
commercial speech licence that
launched in February 1995 was Talk Radio
UK, offering a format which distinguished
itself from 5 Live by its focus on phone-ins
and „shock jocks‟. So it was that a decade
later, the BBC‟s submission to the BBC
Charter Review was able to boast that
“Radio Five Live‟s unique blend of news,
current affairs and sport distinguishes it
from commercial competitors”54.
5.4.4. Yet today, public pronouncements by BBC management indicate that they now
see a new, less distinctive role for 5 Live – as a „talk radio‟ network. In November
2009, the current Controller of 5 Live even argued that the BBC has a responsibility
to develop talk radio in UK, on the basis that “the ventures into this by most of
commercial radio haven‟t been very successful”. At about this time, a new
television marketing campaign was launched for 5 Live with the tagline „Now
We‟re Talking‟, which was described as “trying to surprise people a bit” by
showing them “what else 5 Live can offer” – namely “very high quality
broadcasters talking about things that matter to you” 55.
5.4.5. With LBC and talkSPORT both highly successful stations, we reject both the
premise that commercial talk radio is unsuccessful, and the conclusion that the
BBC has a responsibility to grow the talk radio market by replicating its output. As
Figure 7 shows, the BBC currently dominates UK speech radio as no other market
in which it has a presence, suggesting that any strategic adjustment to its current
speech radio offering should be focused on delivering enhanced – rather than
diminished – distinctiveness.
52 Minutes of BBC Governors board meeting, 11 October 1993 (FOI reference RFI20110629) 53 Maggie Brown, „A station of two halves‟, The Guardian, 7 August 2000 54 BBC, „Review of the BBC‟s Royal Charter: Response to Green Paper‟, May 2005, p. 33 55 Radio Academy, „Adrian Van Klaveren In Conversation‟, November 2009,
http://www.radioacademy.org/events/london-events/london-events-2009/adrian-van-klaveren-in-
conversation/
“Radio Five Live‟s unique blend
of news, current affairs and sport
distinguishes it from commercial
competitors”
BBC Charter Review submission,
May 2005
UTV Media (GB) response to „BBC Trust review of Radio 5 Live and Radio 5 Live Sports Extra‟ – July 11 28
Figure 7. The BBC dominates UK speech radio as no other UK media market
Source: BARB, Jan 10 – Jan 16 2011; Hitwise, w/e 22 January 2011; RAJAR, Q3 2010; Ofcom report on proposed
acquisition of BSkyB by News Corp, Dec 2010
5.4.6. The shift beyond ensuring that listeners are able to access news on the radio
whenever they want it to a broader „talk radio‟ format means that 5 Live is no
longer distinctive. For instance, there are times that 5 Live now offers very similar
programmes to either talkSPORT or LBC 97.3, such as on daytime afternoons,
when Richard Bacon‟s show offers a similar mix of studio chat, celebrity interviews
and audience interaction to Hawksbee and Jacobs on talkSPORT.
5.4.7. Another sign of diminished distinctiveness is that talkSPORT now regularly finds itself
competing with 5 Live for presenter talent. []. When Mike Parry left talkSPORT in
March 2011, he was immediately offered a series of presenting shifts on 5 Live. In
an apparent effort to appeal to talkSPORT listeners – who had enjoyed Parry‟s on-
air persona as a larger-than-life entertainer with an ability to spark debate with his
outlandish opinions – 5 Live made considerable efforts to publicise these
appearances.
5.4.8. Prior to launching 5 Live, minutes of a BBC Governors meeting reveal that the BBC
was keen to avoid duplication with other radio stations (such as Radio 4),
recognising that this would erode choice and plurality for licence fee payers.
Today, 5 Live‟s talk strategy makes it much more likely that it will take listeners
away from stations like talkSPORT and LBC 97.3, undermining commercial radio‟s
ability to fund compelling content of its own and make inroads into the BBC‟s
long-held dominant position in speech radio.
5.4.9. Figure 8 outlines the traditional differences between BBC-style „built format‟
speech radio and commercial-style talk radio. These differences reflect the
difference in budgets between BBC and commercial radio stations, as well as a
difference in editorial focus and style. With 5 Live‟s move away from continuous
news and greater reliance on phone-ins and audience interaction, it is
increasingly duplicating the approaches pioneered within the commercial sector,
and so diluting the distinctiveness of what commercial networks are able to offer.
34%
3%
49%
85%
37%
TV Online Music radio Speech radio Multiplatform news
UTV Media (GB) response to „BBC Trust review of Radio 5 Live and Radio 5 Live Sports Extra‟ – July 11 29
Figure 8. BBC-style „built format‟ speech radio vs commercial-style talk radio
BBC-style „built format‟
speech radio
Commercial-style talk radio
Presentation style Journalistic; authoritative Personality-led
Running order Dense; highly structured Loose; more fluid
Editorial direction Broadly producer-led Broadly listener-led
News story count Very high Low - medium
Editorial style Focused; measured Discursive; passionate
Editorial focus News and current affairs;
serious tone
Mix of news / general interest
topics; lighter tone with use of
humour and entertainment
Journalism Shapes news agenda and
breaks new stories
Reflects and follows news
agenda
Resources Large production teams;
extensive news resource
Small production teams; more
limited news resource
On-air guests Expert; authoritative Mix of expert and more left-
field / controversial
5.4.10. The reasons for 5 Live‟s editorial shift towards a talk-style format are not
completely clear. Although in 2007 Bob Shennan argued that 5 Live has
responded to developments within the wider news market (which had
apparently seen 5 Live lose its „news priority‟ status), the reality is that the radio
landscape has remained relatively unchanged during 5 Live‟s lifetime, with the
exception that Talk Radio UK moved to distinguish itself further from 5 Live in 2000
through its rebrand as talkSPORT. This leaves the impression that 5 Live‟s move
towards „talk radio‟ output has arisen from a desire to maximise audience; 5 Live‟s
2010/11 Statement of Programme Policy stated that its top challenge was to
„attract new listeners‟56. The result has been to raise questions about what 5 Live‟s
purpose now is, and whether a distinctive role still exists for the station.
5.4.11. Our proposed service licence amendments would clarify 5 Live‟s original remit as
a station for anyone interested in news, with its news output exhibiting strong
journalistic values but also continuing to be distinguished from that of Radio 4 by
virtue of its accessibility and continuous nature. By returning to a format which has
news at its core and is characterised by a focus on fresh information and
perspectives about major news events or important unreported stories, rather
than replaying existing perspectives or covering trivial subjects, 5 Live can
rediscover a distinctive role for itself within the wider radio market.
56 BBC, „Performance against public commitments 2010/11‟, July 2011
UTV Media (GB) response to „BBC Trust review of Radio 5 Live and Radio 5 Live Sports Extra‟ – July 11 30
5.5. The news requirements set out in 5 Live‟s service licence are currently inadequately
aligned with those of other leading networks for BBC news coverage, such as BBC
One and BBC News
5.5.1. Compared to 5 Live, other BBC flagship news services have much clearer
requirements for news set out in their service licences. This suggests a clear
precedent for the type of stretching amendments we propose to 5 Live‟s service
licence. Indeed our proposal that 5 Live should expand upon the major national
and international news headlines of the day whilst covering important stories that
are neglected elsewhere in the mainstream news media borrows heavily from
language which already appears in the service licence of the BBC‟s rolling TV
news channel – BBC News.
5.5.2. Significantly, 50% of BBC News‟s audience is currently from the C2DE
demographics, which is above the UK population average of 45%. Conversely just
33% of 5 Live‟s audience is C2DE – i.e. below the UK population average. BBC
News also has a much more even gender
split, with women constituting 42% of its
audience, against 28% for 5 Live. This
clearly demonstrates that BBC services
offering “broad, varied, serious and
analytical news” 24 hours a day can
appeal to a broad audience57.
The BBC News service licence
states that it should “offer a service of regular updates on breaking stories
and there should be significant live coverage. But the distinctiveness of
BBC News Channel should lie in its ambition to offer a broad, varied,
serious and analytical news agenda with strong coverage of the UK, from
across the UK and from the rest of the world including Europe”. This
highlights the importance of BBC news output being distinctive.
BBC News is urged to go “beyond the headlines and [bring] important
stories to air that do not receive widespread coverage elsewhere”; we
propose that similar requirements are translated across to 5 Live‟s service
licence, given their similar remits.
BBC News must also offer “a comprehensive news service each hour,
including sport, business, personal finance and clear, comprehensive
weather updates from across the UK. There should be a news summary on
the half hour.” This example highlights the potential value of defining a
specific editorial focus (such as on business and personal finance topics)
for a service‟s news output.
BBC One‟s service licence states that it “should be the BBC‟s most
significant provider of accurate, impartial and independent television
news, with comprehensive news bulletins in peaktime. Its current affairs
and consumer journalism should reach wide audiences with programmes
of high impact and broad interest.”
BBC One‟s service licence adds that it should “give prominence to a
range of the best of the BBC‟s long-form journalism, featuring analysis of
current events and agenda-setting investigations. There should be regular
57 BARB, May 2011
“the distinctiveness of BBC News
Channel should lie in its ambition
to offer a broad, varied, serious
and analytical news agenda”
BBC News service licence
UTV Media (GB) response to „BBC Trust review of Radio 5 Live and Radio 5 Live Sports Extra‟ – July 11 31
political coverage and topical debate presenting the full range of
significant opinion”.
Radio 1‟s service licence explains that its “news and current affairs should
deliver accurate and impartial coverage in a tone and language
appropriate to the target audience. Complex issues should be explained
and placed into context to help the audience develop a greater
understanding of national and international events”.
Radio 2‟s service licence states that it “should broadcast each weekday
an accessible current affairs programme in daytime covering topics such
as consumer affairs, finance, the family, education, health and disability,
and offering listeners the opportunity to respond by phone or online”. This
programme – which has had its editorial obligation to cover specific
serious news topics in an accessible way clearly defined – is currently
presented by Jeremy Vine.
5.6. Amending 5 Live‟s service licence: news
5.6.1. The amendments we propose to 5 Live‟s service licence are aimed at ensuring
that 5 Live‟s news programmes expand upon the major national and international
news headlines of the day whilst covering important stories that are neglected
elsewhere in the mainstream news media. The wording we presented in Section 2
and also outline below builds on Robin Britten‟s recommendations (such as his
emphasis on „fresh information and understanding‟ and editorial mediation) whilst
also incorporating the finding of
BritainThinks‟ research with 5 Live listeners,
such as that TV, entertainment and
celebrity stories are considered „not news‟
by a clear majority of 5 Live‟s audience.
5.6.2. This approach also reflects the BBC‟s
strategy as outlined in its „Putting Quality
First‟ review, in which the BBC spoke of a
need to deliver the best journalism in the
world. As part of this process, the BBC commissioned July 2010 research from the
Knowledge Agency, in which listeners said that a key characteristic of radio
programmes which are 'Putting Quality First' is "„Proper‟ news reporting”, defined
as “headlines backed up with more depth adapted to suit the particular
station”58. Also of relevance was a proposal to redefine BBC Local Radio as a
“speech-led service delivering high-quality, distinctive journalism that
complements what local commercial radio provides and remains targeted at an
older audience”59.
5.6.3. The service licence amendments we suggest below also build on a key finding
from our 2010 analysis of 5 Live‟s service licence performance, which was that 5
Live‟s use of its unrivalled international and UK network of expert correspondents
was uneven over the period monitored. Such correspondents can clearly play a
key role in sustaining both a breadth and depth of news coverage on 5 Live.
Whilst some use was made of this pre-existing resource, the impression is that 5
58 The Knowledge Agency, „BBC Strategy Review research‟, July 2010, p. 30 59 BBC, „Putting Quality First‟, March 2010
"The BBC should be striving to
produce the best journalism in
the world"
Mark Thompson, Speech at
'Media and Telco: 2011 and beyond', January 2011
UTV Media (GB) response to „BBC Trust review of Radio 5 Live and Radio 5 Live Sports Extra‟ – July 11 32
BBC Radio 5 Live service licence amendments – News
i. 5 Live’s news programmes should expand upon the major national and
international news headlines of the day whilst covering important stories that
are neglected elsewhere in the mainstream news media
ii. News programmes should achieve this by setting out fresh information on
something that has happened, is happening (breaking news), or is about to
happen that is of concern, relevance or interest to the 5 Live audience
iii. For content on 5 Live to be defined as news, it should be presented with the
overriding intention of bringing forward fresh information and understanding; it
should aim to analyse, simplify, and engage the listener with the complicated,
make the obscure clearer and disentangle hype and spin from core fact
iv. News can be reporter-mediated information, informed discussion and debate,
or mediated audience interaction about this
v. To be classed as news, discussion and audience interactivity should have a
current news impetus, a clear intent to add information and a declared aim
and purpose; it should not be aimless, repetitious and unrelated to the current
news agenda
vi. Mere conversation about the topical - offering no fresh fact, analysis or
interpretation – should not be classified as news
vii. 5 Live’s news output should be distinctive and of a high quality, with a focus on
topics such as crime, politics, business and consumer affairs stories which are
clearly considered ‘news’ by 5 Live’s listeners, and a corresponding lower
emphasis on TV, entertainment and celebrity stories
viii. Original and investigative journalism should be scheduled in a prominent
timeslot on a weekly basis and widely trailed by 5 Live, in order to bring it to the
widest possible audience
ix. 5 Live should draw extensively on the BBC’s network of international and UK
journalists
x. To be classed as a 5 Live news programme, around three quarters of an
individual programme’s output should be dedicated to news content (unless
the programme has a separate stated aim and a corresponding percentage of
news content)
Live is failing to exploit the full value of the unrivalled journalistic tools at its
disposal.
UTV Media (GB) response to „BBC Trust review of Radio 5 Live and Radio 5 Live Sports Extra‟ – July 11 33
6. 5 Live is principally known for its popular sports coverage, with minority sports
all but absent from its schedules
6.1. 5 Live is identified with sport – particularly men‟s Premier League football
6.1.1. In 1994, the Guardian had predicted that 5 Live‟s biggest editorial challenge
would be “a clash of news and sport”, citing concerns within the BBC‟s sports
department that “news will take priority”60. This concern within BBC Sport that
“news would prevail” was also recorded in the minutes of a BBC Governors
meeting from 11 October 199361.
6.1.2. In fact, since launch, it is not through news but through sport – and particularly
Premier League football – that 5 Live has made its name. BritainThinks April 2011
survey of 5 Live listeners found that when asked what the first word was that came
to mind when thinking about BBC Radio 5 Live, 5 Live listeners were over five times
more likely to say „sport‟ than „news‟. Listeners were also more likely to say
„football‟ than „news‟. BritainThinks found that listeners also estimate that of BBC
Radio 5 Live‟s total sports content, two-thirds (67%) is football.
Figure 9. “What is the first word that comes to mind when you think of BBC Radio 5 Live?”
Source: BritainThinks, April 2011
6.1.3. These findings reflect 5 Live‟s success in meeting two targets to dominate the
sports radio market which the public service station has been set internally by
management within BBC Sport. The existence of these targets was revealed
earlier this year in a report by MTM London. 5 Live has apparently been set a
target for 62% of people to rate 5 Live as best for sport on radio. 5 Live is also
tasked with attracting 4.1 million listeners to live sport every week.
6.1.4. We consider these targets inappropriate for two reasons. First, they define 5 Live‟s
performance in relation to the competition, rather than in relation to service
licence and public purpose criteria. Second, requirements to maximise listening
and achieve higher approval ratings than competing services provide a natural
incentive for the BBC to acquire more radio rights than any other broadcaster,
and furthermore to acquire rights on an exclusive basis, in order to diminish
60 Andrew Culf, „BBC dismisses fears of „downmarket‟ service‟, The Guardian, 12 October 1993 61 Minutes of BBC Governors board meeting, 11 October 1993 (FOI reference RFI20110629)
UTV Media (GB) response to „BBC Trust review of Radio 5 Live and Radio 5 Live Sports Extra‟ – July 11 34
competitors‟ rival audience appeal and approval ratings. It is not clear on what
basis 5 Live can justify such aggressive targets; we consider them to be
inappropriate and urge the Trust to consider what, if any, sports-related targets 5
Live should be subject to as part of this service review, with those targets that are
deemed appropriate being added to 5 Live‟s service licence62.
6.1.5. That 5 Live has targeted a position of pre-eminence in sports radio (particularly
focused on football) can be traced to the context of its launch in the mid 1990s,
a period in which Sky Sports was transforming the sports broadcasting market by
acquiring exclusive television sports rights, and so stimulating increased demand
for sport on the radio. In the absence of any other obvious national radio home
for sport, 5 Live was tasked with meeting this demand by BBC management, in
part to mitigate the BBC‟s loss of television rights. Writing in 1996, Maggie Brown
wrote: “It is an open secret that Radio 5 Live has succeeded almost entirely
because of its access to live sporting events”63.
6.1.6. The resulting perceived importance of sport to 5 Live was laid bare in 2000 when
talkSPORT launched, describing itself as the UK‟s first dedicated sports radio
station. In response 5 Live‟s Deputy Controller Mike Lewis declared “Britain already
has a sports station and it‟s called Five
Live”, adding “We‟re ready for the big
fight and we think that when we go toe
to toe, Five Live wins”64. He justified 5
Live‟s exclusive access to Premier League
commentary by arguing that rivals were
free to acquire the rights to less popular
events such as “nationwide league”,
“rugby league” and “racing” instead65.
6.1.7. Improbable as this reaction sounds, a similar attitude can be traced through to
the present day – and not just in the targets referenced above. In 2010 research
undertaken with licence fee payers as part of the BBC‟s „Putting Quality First‟
process, it was revealed that “the role of radio in providing sports coverage was
felt to be less important than perhaps it used to be”66. Yet 5 Live‟s current
direction of travel is in the opposite direction.
6.1.8. In June 2011, Adrian Van Klaveren told Radio 4‟s Feedback that the volume of
Premier League football coverage had “probably” increased over the last five or
ten years, but asserted that this was because the Premier League had grown in
popularity over the period. “Of course we'll continue to bring you more live
football than you'll hear anywhere else” Van Klaveren had told listeners a year
earlier67. He also justified the loss of 2 of its 6 Premier League rights packages by
explaining "we still have substantially more Premier League matches than any
other broadcaster”68. As we note in section 8.2, this emphasis on being the
preeminent sports broadcaster in radio continues to be reflected in 5 Live‟s sports
rights budget.
62 MTM London, „The BBC‟s processes for the management of sports rights‟, March 2011 63 Maggie Brown, „Why sport is challenging news for a first team place‟, PR Week UK, 28 June 1996 64 Stephen Armstrong, „Sports Radio - Question of sport coverage is answered‟, PR Week, 21 January 2000 65 Stephen Armstrong, „Sports Radio - Question of sport coverage is answered‟, PR Week, 21 January 2000 66 BBC Strategy Review research 67 Adrian Van-Klaveren, „5 live's Rajar Figures Quarter 3 2010‟, 5 Live Blog, 28 October 2010,
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/5live/2010/10/5-lives-rajar-figures-quarter.shtml 68 BBC Radio 5 Live, Victoria Derbyshire interview with Adrian Van Klaveren, 15 September 2010
“Britain already has a sports
station and it‟s called Five Live”
Mike Lewis, Deputy Controller 5 Live, January 2000
UTV Media (GB) response to „BBC Trust review of Radio 5 Live and Radio 5 Live Sports Extra‟ – July 11 35
6.2. 5 Live‟s editorial obsession with football places it at odds with its service licence and
directions given to it by the BBC Trust
6.2.1. As well as preventing 5 Live from establishing a reputation as the home of
continuous news on the radio, 5 Live‟s decision to devote so much airtime and
programming resource to football places it at odds with its service licence
requirements relating to sport.
6.2.2. In fact, 5 Live‟s service licence sets out no requirement for 5 Live to offer wall to
wall football. 5 Live was set up at a time when popular football matches were
scheduled at a much narrower range of
times than today, with most Premier
League and Football League matches
scheduled at 3pm on Saturday afternoons,
and European and International fixtures
spread over a narrower range of weekly
timeslots. As the desire of pay per view
channels to offer a daily schedule of
football has dispersed kick-off times
throughout the week, 5 Live has taken the
decision to follow mirror the strategy of
those pay per view channels – but it would
have been free to choose not to under the terms of its service licence.
6.2.3. In the first draft service licence for 5 Live proposed by BBC management in
December 2006, 5 Live would have been required to “give listeners free access to
sports coverage often available only on a pay-to-view basis elsewhere” – in other
words it was 5 Live‟s mission to acquire radio commentary rights for events such as
the Premier League which are carried on subscription TV services. However, this
requirement was swiftly removed by the BBC Trust, who recognised that if 5 Live
did not acquire rights to fixtures such as the Premier League, “free access” would
be likely to be provided by commercial radio69.
6.2.4. Elsewhere, 5 Live‟s current service licence requires it to “unite people around the
big sporting occasions that form a key part of UK culture”. 5 Live is also required to
provide “live commentary on major sporting events (subject to rights)”. Yet there
is no requirement for 5 Live to provide exclusive coverage of four live Premier
League games a week, in addition to exclusive coverage of the FA Cup and
England internationals, and non-exclusive coverage of the Champions League
and Europa League70. On the contrary, 5 Live‟s service licence requires it to
provide live commentary only of certain “major sporting events”, with no
minimum requirement as to the proportion of „major‟ sporting fixtures it should
cover. Indeed 5 Live is not required to cover major sports events at all, with the
“subject to rights” caveat highlighting the possibility that it may be inappropriate
(for instance because it is not cost-effective) for 5 Live to acquire certain „major
sports‟ rights.
6.2.5. 5 Live‟s current strategy of acquiring the majority of the available UK radio
commentary rights to major sporting events, despite the absence of a service
licence requirement for it to do so, raises particular issues because the rights in
question are typically offered only on an exclusive basis. In October 2009, the BBC
Trust reminded BBC Radio 5 Live management that “the achievement of value for
69 BBC 5 Live Service Licence, December 2006 70 BBC 5 Live Service Licence, April 2011
“Why is 5 Live increasingly
resembling talkSPORT? Blokeish
presenters, whether male or
female, appear to be under an
edict to talk about football
wherever possible”.
5 Live listener, Radio 4 Feedback, June 2011
UTV Media (GB) response to „BBC Trust review of Radio 5 Live and Radio 5 Live Sports Extra‟ – July 11 36
money does not necessarily require the securing of exclusive sports rights, and
that where service licence and other requirements and obligations can be met
without securing exclusive rights, then proper consideration ought to be given to
this option”71. This was set out in its decision to uphold a fair trading complaint by
talkSPORT about how 5 Live went about acquiring exclusive FA Cup rights.
6.2.6. Despite this ruling from the BBC Trust, 5 Live‟s sports rights strategy continues to see
it acquire the majority of available major sports rights. Whilst exclusivity is typically
attached to rights by the rights owner rather than a broadcaster, we see no
reason why the BBC could not insist on waiving this right to exclusivity by
requesting that exclusivity provisions are removed from its sports rights contracts.
We therefore contend that the BBC is failing to give proper regard to the BBC
Trust‟s instruction that it should consider how it can deliver its service licence
obligations without securing exclusive rights to key sports fixtures. We discuss this
further in 8.2.6.
6.3. 5 Live‟s sports output contains an excess of football „chat‟
6.3.1. A related issue to 5 Live‟s over-delivery of live Premier League football coverage is
the growth in football chat. As part of BritainThinks research, 5 Live listeners were
more likely to say that the amount of live football commentary, football debate /
phone-ins, and football news has increased in the last five years, than that it has
decreased72.
6.3.2. Minimising the amount of airtime devoted to general football chat and phone-ins
is a key way in which 5 Live can distinguish itself from other stations. It also offers
an opportunity to devote airtime to other subjects – such as news or
underexposed / minority sports. Yet as our 2010 analysis to inform our service
licence complaint to BBC management revealed, 60% of sport output –
representing 22% of total output – consisted of studio-based sporting analysis,
discussion, phone-ins and comedy – primarily concentrating on Premier League,
European and International football.
6.3.3. There is strong evidence of 5 Live‟s preoccupation with sports chat at weekends.
During daytime output on Saturday 13 March (6am – 7.30pm), 81% of output
consisted of „sport‟ and „other speech‟. During Danny Baker‟s Saturday morning
programme, the figure was 84% (28% „other speech‟ + 56% sport), despite an
absence of any live sports fixtures requiring coverage during this timeslot. The
sport programming comprised sport-based chat, anecdotes, trivia and
entertainment.
6.3.4. Whilst 5 Live‟s service licence requires it to stimulate debate, there is no explicit
requirement for it to offer extended sports chat and debates. At present, 5 Live is
missing a clear opportunity to set itself apart from commercial-style talk radio by
focusing its sport output on coverage of live sport, as set out in its service licence
remit, rather than „talking about sport‟, with debates focused on news subjects
and meeting the criteria suggested by Robin Britten.
71 BBC Trust, „Fair Trading Appeal Investigation: Appeal regarding the BBC‟s acquisition of the radio
broadcasting rights to the FA Cup for the period 2008/9 to 2011/12‟, October 2009, p. 10 72 BritainThinks, „BBC Radio 5 Live: An Audience Perspective‟, April 2011
UTV Media (GB) response to „BBC Trust review of Radio 5 Live and Radio 5 Live Sports Extra‟ – July 11 37
6.4. 5 Live has no regular, scheduled commitment to minority and Olympic sports
6.4.1. As we have already emphasised, it is not just 5 Live‟s news output that has
suffered as a result of its obsession with Premier League football. With Premier
League dominating even when there are no live fixtures to cover, 5 Live lacks any
regular scheduled slots in which minority sports can be sure of receiving
prominent coverage. This is despite 5 Live‟s service licence requiring it to “cover
sports not widely accessible on UK radio” and offer “programming on a broad
range of sports from around the world, including minority sports from time to
time”73.
6.4.2. In their April 2011 research amongst 5 Live listeners, BritainThinks found that 51% of
5 Live listeners believe that it should increase the amount of broadcast time given
to sports that are less often covered by other broadcasters, with only 18%
disagreeing74. In addition, the research revealed that 5 live listeners
overwhelmingly associated 5 Live with
mainstream sports rather than minority
sports / sports that are less often covered
by other broadcasters.
6.4.3. In its ruling on our complaint about 5 Live‟s
service licence compliance in April 2011,
the BBC Trust found that the service
licence “does not provide clear
commitments as to the frequency and
range of coverage of minority and
secondary sports”, tasking this review with “considering this area and reaching
greater clarity on the station‟s commitments in this regard”75.
6.4.4. It is apparent from submissions by BBC management that 5 Live does provide
some exposure for minority and secondary sports. In its response to our complaint
about the absence of minority sports from 5 Live‟s output, the BBC outlined details
of 14 sports which it had covered at some point during 2010.
6.4.5. 5 Live‟s failing in relation to its service licence remit is not that it never covers
sports other than football, cricket, rugby, Formula 1, golf and tennis (which we
consider „major sports‟) but that it is currently relying on listeners to catch minority
and secondary sports output by chance or at random. 5 Live currently lacks daily
scheduled times at which such sports are guaranteed to receive coverage. We
suggest that such slots should be scheduled in each of 5 Live‟s daytime
programmes, as well as in Breakfast and Drive, in weekday evening sports
output), and during peak-time weekend sports output – programmes which as
we have already shown, have very large audiences. This coverage could take
the place of existing football-focused items.
6.4.6. When asked on a previous occasion how 5 Live fulfils its commitments to minority
sports, Adrian Van Klaveren identified “5 Live Monday evenings” and “5 Live
Sports Extra” as places where exposure is given to a broader range of sports. Part
of this answer can be dismissed immediately: 5 Live‟s service licence
commitments cannot be met by 5 Live Sports Extra as it holds a separate service
licence. Furthermore, this licence requires that 5 Live Sports Extra should only
73 BBC Radio Five Live Service Licence, May 2010 74 BritainThinks, „BBC Radio 5 Live: An Audience Perspective‟, April 2011 75 BBC Trust, „General Appeals Finding‟, April 2011
“The service licence does not
provide clear commitments as
to the frequency and range of
coverage of minority and
secondary sport”
BBC Trust, General Appeals Panel Ruling, April 2011
UTV Media (GB) response to „BBC Trust review of Radio 5 Live and Radio 5 Live Sports Extra‟ – July 11 38
provide coverage of a sport insofar as that coverage was originally earmarked to
appear on 5 Live or Radio 4 Long Wave.
6.4.7. Yet the assertion that 5 Live covers minority sports on Monday evenings is also
incorrect. As it happens, the weekday which we sampled at random for the
purposes of 2010 complaint to BBC management was a Monday – 1 March 2010.
However no minority sports were featured in that evening‟s edition of the
„Monday Night Club‟, which focused exclusively on football. This was despite
there being no live football scheduled. Yet with 5 Live‟s own website describing
this programme as „Mark Chapman with football debate and discussion‟, this is
perhaps not a major surprise. The BBC iPlayer description of the 11 July 2011
edition reads “Mark Chapman, Craig Burley, Ian McGarry and Steve Claridge talk
football”76.
6.4.8. The absence of live football on the Monday evening monitored as part of our
2010 monitoring could have been used by 5 Live as a rare opportunity to reflect
on the Winter Olympics, which had concluded earlier that day in Canada, or to
appraise the success of the England men‟s team at the 2010 Hockey World Cup.
During the 10 months of the year during which the football season is active,
weekday evenings between 7-10pm are dominated by live football commentary,
drawn in particular from the Premier League, Champions League and Europa
League. However, despite the relatively unusual absence of football commentary
commitments, the focus of that evening‟s sports output was an extended studio
chat about Wayne Rooney.
6.4.9. The other key time for sport on 5 Live, apart from weekday evenings, is at
weekends, meaning that minority and Olympic sports could potentially receive
dedicated coverage on Saturdays and Sundays. Yet here too, our analysis
revealed that 5 Live provides no routine coverage of minority sports in its
weekend sports output. On Saturday 13 March 2010, the day sampled at random
for the purpose of our complaint, 5 Live gave no exposure to any minority sports
or sports not widely accessible on UK radio. This was despite offering a total of 14
hours of sports programming. Sports coverage focused entirely on football, rugby
union, cricket, and Formula 1, along with some coverage of athletics (the latter is
arguably classifiable as a „minority sport‟). There were also no programming trails
directing listeners to other points in the schedules where the service licence
requirements relating to minority and secondary sports might be being met.
6.4.10. 5 Live‟s failure to offer regular scheduled
exposure to minority and secondary sports
is particularly surprising given the
commitment given by BBC management
to do just that in 2001. As part of a report
for BBC Governors entitled „BBC Listens‟, it
was discovered that 5 Live‟s sports output
was overly dominated by football. An
independent panel including Pat Nevin,
Tanni Grey-Thompson, Bridget Rosewell and Gary Younge considered the issue
and proposed that 5 Live should “expand the range and scope of sports
coverage”. In response, 5 Live “made a commitment to increase the range of
sports covered in Chiles on Saturday and Sport on Five”77.
76 5 Live website. Accessed 12 July 2011, http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00ctvmw 77 BBC Governors, BBC Annual Report 2000/01, 2001, p. 35
“Radio Five Live has made a
commitment to increase the
range of sports covered in Chiles
on Saturday and Sport on Five”
BBC Annual Report 2000/01
UTV Media (GB) response to „BBC Trust review of Radio 5 Live and Radio 5 Live Sports Extra‟ – July 11 39
6.4.11. In an era of pre-BBC Trust governance, these commitments appear to have been
adopted and then forgotten almost as quickly. As our analysis showed, minority
sports receive little or no coverage on Saturdays. There was an opportunity for 5
Live to readopt these previous commitments when it lost the rights for 2 of its 6
Premier League commentary packages in 2010. Yet 5 Live‟s weekend output has
maintained its focus on football, as Van Klaveren had predicted it would in 2009:
“that‟s what our audience would expect from us” he told a Radio Academy
event, adding “Premier League football is clearly huge in this country”78.
6.4.12. There are four key reasons why the BBC should address this and be required to
provide a regular scheduled commitment to minority sports:
BBC Radio 5 Live is the only UK radio network which possesses the
audience reach, resources, remit and means of distribution to deliver
effective coverage of minority sports
There is an appetite for coverage of minority sports amongst 5 Live‟s
listeners which is not being met
Delivering more balanced sports output would help 5 Live to deliver a
more balanced audience
By covering a broader range of sports, 5 Live can fulfil its commitment to
boosting participation in sport and so offer a permanent legacy for the
London 2012 Olympics
6.4.13. We now address each of these points in turn.
6.5. 5 Live is the only radio station in a position to deliver broad sports coverage
6.5.1. A key reason for 5 Live to bolster its commitment to minority sports is that it is
uniquely positioned to deliver a platform for these sports; no other UK radio
network possesses the combination of advantages which is available to the
licence fee funded service. 5 Live‟s unique attributes for this task include its
significant programming budget (£53.3m), its nationwide reach, and its access to
scarce analogue broadcast spectrum which means that it is available in virtually
all households and in all major radio listening locations, including in-car.
6.5.2. Relegating coverage of these sports to 5 Live Sports Extra would be
unacceptable given the limited reach of this part-time digital service. 5 Live Sport
Extra‟s part-time nature means that it attracts a low audience and is principally
an „appointment to listen‟ station, rather than a network on which listeners end
up being exposed to programming (such as minority sports output) that they had
not actually tuned in to hear. 5 Live Sports Extra attracted 799,000 listeners in Q1
2011, 79% of whom were male. In total, 5 Live Sports Extra accounts for just 4.6% of
the combined listening to 5 Live and 5 Live Sports Extra.
6.5.3. 5 Live Sports Extra‟s reliance on DAB transmission also means that it is unavailable
on the vast majority of radio receivers currently used in the UK. DAB currently
accounts for just 16.7% of radio listening whilst only just over a third of UK
households possesses even a single DAB receiver79.
78 Radio Academy, „Adrian Van Klaveren In Conversation‟, November 2009,
http://www.radioacademy.org/events/london-events/london-events-2009/adrian-van-klaveren-in-
conversation/ 79 RAJAR Q1 2011
UTV Media (GB) response to „BBC Trust review of Radio 5 Live and Radio 5 Live Sports Extra‟ – July 11 40
6.5.4. Furthermore, those listeners that can access 5 Live Sports Extra on DAB are more
likely to be ABC1 than C2DE. Ofcom‟s 2010 Digital Radio Progress Report found
that those listeners who do possess a DAB radio are typically from affluent
demographic groups, with DAB ownership highest in wealthy areas of the South
East, such as South East Surrey and Cambridge80. Similarly, in July 2011, Kantar
Media research for the BBC Trust found that adults in the higher ABC1 social
grades are significantly more likely than adults in the lower C2DE social grades to
listen to digital radio (37% vs. 25%)81. Accordingly 63% of 5 Live Sports Extra‟s
audience is ABC1, and 68% is over 45. This also indicates that 5 Live Sports Extra is
an unsuitable network to use in encouraging young people to participate in sport
– another of 5 Live‟s key service licence requirements.
6.5.5. 5 Live Sports Extra‟s ability to provide a platform for minority sports is also restricted
by its service licence restrictions which prevent it from acquiring its own sports
rights; we explain why these must remain in place and indeed be clarified in
section 7.
6.5.6. Like 5 Live Sports Extra, commercial radio is
also poorly positioned to provide the
prominent platform for minority and
Olympic sports on UK radio that we
propose. This is partly because it lacks the
resource advantages available to the
BBC. These advantages include the large
number of sports experts employed by
BBC Sport and the access to sporting
events and expertise gained through its television operations. In addition,
commercial radio‟s reliance on advertising and sponsorship means that it is
difficult to offset the high production costs associated with sports coverage other
than for highly popular sports such as football. Finally, commercial considerations
also obligate the commercial sector to focus on niche audience demographics
in order to appeal to advertisers (for instance talkSPORT targets ABC1 men aged
15-44), whereas the BBC has a mission to cater for all sports fans, regardless of
gender, age or demographic profile.
6.6. There is an appetite for coverage of minority sports amongst 5 Live‟s listeners
6.6.1. It is easy to dismiss calls for 5 Live to cover a wider range of sports by arguing that
these sports are insufficiently popular to sustain an audience. Yet although
football is the most popular sport in the UK, there is nevertheless significant public
interest in a much wider range of sports. This has been most recently
demonstrated by the level of demand for tickets at next year‟s London 2012
Olympics.
6.6.2. Furthermore, as a public service broadcaster, it is not for the BBC to devise its
sports schedules on the basis of audience maximisation. As the BBC‟s Director
General said in 2010, “The public want a range of programmes from the BBC,
including popular ones, but they don't want a BBC which is driven at all by ratings
or commercialism or by any form of competitiveness other than the urge to be
the best”. As Mark Thompson added in his speech, “the BBC needs to make a
further significant shift towards distinctiveness, spending more of the licence fee
80 Ofcom, „The Communications Market: Digital Radio Report‟, August 2010 81 Kantar Media for BBC Trust, „BBC Trust Purpose Remit Study 2010-2011 UK‟, Jul 2011
Adults in the higher ABC1 social
grades are significantly more
likely than adults in the lower
C2DE social grades to listen to
digital radio (37% vs. 25%)
BBC Trust Purpose Remit Study, July 2011
UTV Media (GB) response to „BBC Trust review of Radio 5 Live and Radio 5 Live Sports Extra‟ – July 11 41
on output that you can't see or hear anywhere else and which, without the BBC,
wouldn't get made at all.”82
6.6.3. In their April 2011 research, BritainThinks
found that 5 Live‟s focus on Premier
League has strongly skewed its appeal
towards football fans. BritainThinks found
that 86% of 5 Live listeners are interested in
Premier League football, which was
almost three times the proportion among
the general adult population in a
separate survey for the Premier League
using the same Populous research panel.
Similarly, more than 80% of 5 Live listeners
expressed an interest in European or
International football (82%) and say that they are interested in Championship
football (81%).
6.6.4. Yet despite this strong football bias, BritainThinks found that even within 5 Live‟s
football-skewed audience, which has been shaped by its equally football-skewed
output, there is high interest in a wide range of minority sports. These findings are
set out in Figure 10, and show that even for the less popular sport surveyed –
netball – there is a still a sizeable 20% of 5 Live‟s audience which expresses an
interest in the sport. Other sports such as gymnastics (39%) and table tennis (30%)
also generated surprisingly high levels of interest amongst the 5 Live listeners
polled for this research. In fact BritainThinks found that 89% of 5 Live listeners are
interested in at least one sport which less than 50% of 5 Live‟s listeners expressed
an interest in (i.e. any sport from Rugby League downwards on the list set out in
Figure 10).
82 Mark Thompson, MacTaggart Lecture 2010, August 2010
“The public want a range of
programmes from the BBC,
including popular ones, but they
don't want a BBC which is driven
at all by ratings or
commercialism or by any form
of competitiveness other than
the urge to be the best”.
Mark Thompson, August 2010
UTV Media (GB) response to „BBC Trust review of Radio 5 Live and Radio 5 Live Sports Extra‟ – July 11 42
Figure 10. 5 Live‟s listeners are interested in a wide range of sports
Q. How interested would you say you are in each of the following sports?
SUM: Very interested /Somewhat interested
Premier League football 86
European or International football 82
Championship football 81
Cricket 70
Formula 1/Motorsport 70
Athletics 66
Lower League or non-League football 66
Rugby Union 64
Tennis 63
Snooker 54
Golf 53
Cycling 52
Boxing 50
Rugby League 47
Swimming / Diving 45
Darts 43
Horse Racing 41
Gymnastics 39
Skiing 36
Badminton 31
Water Sports - Canoeing/Sailing/Skiing 31
American Football 30
Table Tennis 30
Basketball 27
Fishing 27
Hockey 27
Show Jumping 27
Squash 23
Volleyball 23
Netball 20
Source: BritainThinks, April 2011
6.6.5. This evidence of strong interest in a wide range of sports does not suggest that 5
Live should necessarily provide weekly hockey commentary; however it does
indicate an appetite for a wider range of sports coverage, and strongly suggests
that 5 Live‟s audience would not only tolerate but welcome an increased level of
regular scheduled coverage.
UTV Media (GB) response to „BBC Trust review of Radio 5 Live and Radio 5 Live Sports Extra‟ – July 11 43
6.7. Delivering more balanced sports output would help 5 Live to deliver a more
balanced audience
6.7.1. In addition to meeting the needs of 5 Live‟s current audience, extending the
range of sports covered by 5 Live is likely to
help it to achieve a more balanced
audience. Prior to 5 Live launching in 1994,
male listeners to the BBC‟s radio sport
programmes outnumbered female
listeners by nine to one, with Jenny
Abramsky outlining her hope that 5 Live
would “change that balance to six to
four”. Plans were announced to “attract
more women to sports radio by increasing
coverage of tennis, athletics and golf, which have growing female audiences”83.
6.7.2. 5 Live‟s first schedule accordingly included a programme about women‟s sport
called „Women on Top‟, presented by Frances Edmonds as part of an attempt
“to reduce the overwhelmingly male bias of sports coverage”. Edmonds was
quoted as saying “We want to try to bring more women into sport both as
participants and as administrators. So we want to hear from women if they have
a story to tell or an axe to grind”84.
6.7.3. Similar strategies are no longer apparent at 5 Live. As a result, 72% of 5 Live‟s
listeners are now male, as shown in Figure 11, with the proportion having grown
slightly over the last decade. The proportion of male listeners increases to 76%
during sports programming. Men also account for 71% of 5 Live‟s weekly listening
hours, which increases to 79% within sports programming.
Figure 11. Over 70% of 5 Live‟s 15+ audience is male – and the proportion is growing
Source: RAJAR Q1 2002 – Q1 2011
83 Alexandra Frean, „Radio Five denies unsporting tactics‟, The Times, 25 January 1994 84 Alexandra Frean, „Radio 5 Live picks voices to woo young listeners‟, The Times, 15 March 1994
62%
64%
66%
68%
70%
72%
74%
76%
2002
Q2
2002
Q4
2003
Q2
2003
Q4
2004
Q2
2004
Q4
2005
Q2
2005
Q4
2006
Q2
2006
Q4
2007
Q2
2007
Q4
2008
Q2
2008
Q4
2009
Q2
2009
Q4
2010
Q2
2010
Q4
“5 Live is the station Gene Hunt
would listen to on the radio
while roaring around in his
Quattro and crashing into
cardboard boxes”
Jan Moir, July 2010
UTV Media (GB) response to „BBC Trust review of Radio 5 Live and Radio 5 Live Sports Extra‟ – July 11 44
6.7.4. Such is the association of 5 Live with a male audience that when 5 Live launched
a new magazine programme called „Mens Hour‟ in 2010, Jan Moir wrote, “There
are many things you could say about the BBC's Radio 5 Live, but wishing they
would broadcast more programmes aimed at men probably would not be one
of them”, referring to its “testosterone-rich output”85.
6.7.5. Similar views are reflected in BritainThinks research findings from April 2011.
BritainThinks found that 5 Live listeners overwhelmingly associated the station with
male listeners rather than female listeners. 92% of respondents to the survey –
which was weighted to reflect the demographic profile of 5 Live‟s audience –
were more likely to associate the station with male listeners. This is significantly
higher than the percentage of 5 Live‟s audience which is actually male,
suggesting that many women who listen to the station do so with a perception
that the station is not targeted at them.
6.7.6. RAJAR analysis backs this up, confirming that 5 Live currently does not generally
appeal to women unless they are also interested in sport. In total, 73% of 5 Live‟s
listeners tune into some sport programming in any given week, but this only drops
to 63% amongst its female audience (compared with 76% amongst men)86.
Indeed BritainThinks also found that a clear majority (72%) of female 5 Live
listeners have an interest in Premier League football. In other words, it appears
that most women who listen to 5 Live do so at least in part in order to listen to its
sports programming – particularly football.
6.7.7. This evidence suggests that 5 Live‟s focus on football has damaged the delivery
of its central remit – to offer programming with broad appeal for anyone
interested in listening to news and / or sport on the radio. Delivering more
balanced sports output is just one way in which 5 Live can address this.
6.8. By covering a broader range of sports, 5 Live can fulfil its commitment to boosting
participation in sport and so offer a permanent legacy for the London 2012
Olympics
6.8.1. In addition to the benefits highlighted above, 5 Live can deliver a wider public
service benefit by improving its coverage of minority sports. With just a year to go
until the London Olympics, there is currently unprecedented public interest in a
variety of sports which normally struggle for primetime media attention, but which
can boast high levels of grassroots support and participation. This boost in interest
in sport in all its forms is a key part of what it is hoped that London 2012 will help to
deliver.
6.8.2. In the build-up to the Olympics, 5 Live is offering Olympics-related programming
such as its dedicated Olympics strand London Calling, but by its very nature this is
not a permanent fixture in 5 Live‟s schedule. By spelling out 5 Live‟s long-term
commitment to Olympic and minority sports in its daily flagship sports strands, the
BBC has an opportunity to ensure a permanent home for minority and Olympic
sports on mainstream UK radio, and to meet its responsibilities to boost sports
participation. Such an objective should sit at the heart of its public service mission.
6.8.3. In the course of preparing this submission, we contacted a number of minority
and Olympic sports organisations, who all confirmed their view that one of the
conditions for an enduring Olympics legacy is appropriate media coverage for
85 Jan Moir, „Men's Hour? The LAST thing we need is more Radio Bloke‟, Daily Mail, 14 July 2010 86 RAJAR Q1 2011
UTV Media (GB) response to „BBC Trust review of Radio 5 Live and Radio 5 Live Sports Extra‟ – July 11 45
the full range of sports enjoyed in this country. Our approach to these
organisations was made through 1984 Olympic Gold Medallist Tessa Sanderson,
who is appearing in Olympics programming on talkSPORT in the run-up to London
2012 (this link to UTV Media was spelt out in Tessa‟s letter).
6.8.4. The responses we received to Tessa‟s approach were unwaveringly positive. In
total, 14 organisations responded supporting the idea of an increased
commitment to minority and Olympic Sports by BBC radio. These were [].[]
also responded with a letter than stated that [], and promising to submit their
own response to the BBC Trust.
6.8.5. Most of these organisations outlined their intention to respond directly to the BBC
Trust within the consultation window. All of them provided us with perspectives or
insights to inform this section of our response. In addition, seven organisations also
offered to add their signatures to a joint letter calling for a regular scheduled
commitment to minority and Olympic sports on 5 Live. These organisations were
[]. This joint letter, which is also signed by Tessa Sanderson – herself a passionate
proponent of a lasting Olympics legacy – has been submitted separately to the
BBC Trust and it also appended to this submission.
6.9. Amending 5 Live‟s service licence: sport
6.9.1. The service licence amendments we propose in relation to sport are focused on
ensuring that 5 Live makes a meaningful commitment – backed by appropriate
targets – to covering a broad range of minority and international sports, including
sports not widely accessible on UK radio. To ensure that these important
programming strands are brought to a wide audience, 5 Live should broadcast
news or live coverage of minority and secondary sports on a daily basis, in its
flagship sports programmes, including peak listening periods at weekends. The
proposals we make have been devised in dialogue with the fourteen sports
organisations we spoke to to inform our submission to this review, as referred to
above.
6.9.2. For BBC radio‟s new commitment to minority and Olympic sports to have a
tangible impact, we – together with the eight signatories to the separate letter
from sports organisations – suggest that it should:
Include daily coverage in peak-time programming and within 5 Live‟s
flagship sports programmes, ensuring the widest possible reach
Be properly signposted, making it easily „discoverable‟ by listeners
Provide a platform to any sport which can demonstrate meaningful levels
of participation and support across the UK – not just Olympic sports
Give prominence to women‟s sports, as well as men‟s sports
Provide listeners with information about how they can participate in the
sports featured on air
6.9.3. We propose that 5 Live‟s commitment to minority and Olympic sports should be
delivered at the following times:
Peaktime breakfast and drive programmes
Weekday evening sports programmes
Weekend peaktime live sport coverage
UTV Media (GB) response to „BBC Trust review of Radio 5 Live and Radio 5 Live Sports Extra‟ – July 11 46
6.9.4. The test of 5 Live‟s new commitment to minority and Olympic sports will be
whether it breaks the stranglehold over coverage currently enjoyed by men‟s
football, specifically the Premier League. As such, we propose that in place of
BBC Sport‟s current sports radio targets, 5 Live‟s service licence should gain new
targets focused on achieving this – such as a requirement for minority sports to
comprise at least 40% of total sports output (or 875 hours per year). We note that 5
Live currently has fewer quantitative „Statement of Programme Policy‟
commitments than any other national radio station, and propose that the BBC
Trust addresses this with an appropriate target for minority sports coverage.
6.9.5. Such is football‟s dominance of mainstream media sports coverage that all other
sports arguably have „minority sport‟ status – that is they are left to compete for
the minority of sports coverage which is not allocated to football. This is reflected
in our proposal to define minority sports as those sports which receive relatively
low levels of media coverage, but which can nevertheless demonstrate
meaningful levels of participation and support across the UK. Building on this, we
call on the BBC Trust to develop an additional service licence requirement that
no single sport should take up more than a certain proportion (such as 40%) of 5
Live‟s sports airtime – with the threshold being set at such a level as ensures that 5
Live‟s audience appeal is not overly slanted towards one audience group, as has
occurred in relation to male listeners as a result of the current focus on football.
6.9.6. In addition, we have proposed that when faced with a choice between covering
two different sports events, one of which is likely to be covered elsewhere on UK
radio, 5 Live should incline towards coverage of the event which is less likely to
receive coverage elsewhere.
UTV Media (GB) response to „BBC Trust review of Radio 5 Live and Radio 5 Live Sports Extra‟ – July 11 47
BBC Radio 5 Live service licence amendments – Sport
xi. 5 Live’s sports output should focus on live coverage, or on news and analysis
which presents fresh information and understanding of current sports events.
xii. 5 Live should seek to distinguish itself from commercial sports media outlets
by minimising its reliance on studio chat and discussion, particularly about
popular sports such as football
xiii. Minority sports should make up at least 40% of 5 Live’s sports output,
comprising a minimum of 875 hours per year [level to be determined by BBC
Trust]
xiv. No single sport should be allowed to take up more than 40% of 5 Live’s sports
airtime, comprising a maximum of 875 hours per year [level to be determined
by BBC Trust]
xv. 5 Live should provide daily news and live coverage of minority and
secondary sports fixtures within its daily flagship sports programmes, including
peak listening periods at weekends
xvi. Minority sports should be defined as those sports which receive relatively low
levels of media coverage, but which can nevertheless demonstrate
meaningful levels of participation and support across the UK
xvii. As well as being scheduled at prominent times, minority sports coverage
should be properly signposted, making it easily ‘discoverable’ by listeners
xviii. 5 Live should seek to give prominence to women’s sports, as well as covering
men’s sports
xix. 5 Live should provide listeners with information about how they can
participate in the sports featured on air
xx. When faced with a choice between covering two different sports events,
one of which is likely to be covered elsewhere on UK radio, 5 Live should
incline towards the event which is less likely to receive coverage elsewhere
UTV Media (GB) response to „BBC Trust review of Radio 5 Live and Radio 5 Live Sports Extra‟ – July 11 48
7. 5 Live Sports Extra‟s mere existence reflects 5 Live‟s dominance of sports rights
and its failure to cover minority sports
7.1. 5 Live Sports Extra has expanded beyond its original scope
7.1.1. The launch of 5 Live Sports Extra in 2002 reflected BBC radio‟s success in
dominating the market for radio sports
rights, with the BBC possessing more sports
rights than it could conceivably hope to
put to air. The Secretary of State‟s
approval notice described the proposed
service – then named as Five Live Sports
Plus – as “a distinctive, well-defined
service, which will broadcast only when it
can make better use of existing sports
rights already obtained for BBC radio”. The
Government added that “It is important
that the service is and continues to be,
distinctive from competitors and maintains
its role as an overflow service from existing BBC radio”. Two conditions were
imposed:
The service will broadcast live sporting events which cannot be
accommodated on BBC Radio Five Live. It will not be a full time network.*
In particular, the service must be used solely as an overflow for rights that
have been obtained for broadcasting on Radio Five Live and Radio 4
Long Wave and must not provide an additional outlet for which the BBC
will bid against commercial broadcasters.
* Sports currently covered will include English Test Cricket (Test Match
Special), Nationwide football, Open golf, the Scottish Premier League,
Zurich Premiership Rugby Union, Formula One qualifying rounds and
additional courts at Wimbledon87
7.1.2. Sports Extra‟s current remit has since expanded beyond what was originally
envisaged by the Government, with evidence that BBC management are
effectively acquiring additional rights for deployment on 5 Live Sports Extra, and
also seeking to define a standalone identity and content offering for the overflow
sports service.
7.1.3. The Government‟s 2001 decision note made it clear that 5 Live Sports Extra must
never acquire its own rights in any circumstance, and that it should not have a
separately defined content offering to 5 Live. Whilst the current 5 Live service
licence more or less replicates the two conditions, the emphasis on the station
broadcasting “only when it can make better use of existing sports rights already
obtained for BBC radio” is not so apparent (this phrase has not survived the
transition to service licences).
7.1.4. Perhaps as a result of this service licence ambiguity, the BBC now regularly
acquires live commentary rights for 5 Live Sports Extra whilst publicly making it
clear that it has no intention of deploying the rights on 5 Live or Radio 4. This is
evidenced by the following:
87 DCMS, „BBC New Digital Services – Schedule of Decisions‟, 13 September 2001
“It is important that the service is
and continues to be, distinctive
from competitors and maintains
its role as an overflow service
from existing BBC radio”
Rt Hon Tessa Jowell MP,
Secretary of State for Culture
Media and Sport, September
2001
UTV Media (GB) response to „BBC Trust review of Radio 5 Live and Radio 5 Live Sports Extra‟ – July 11 49
In September 2009, the BBC announced that 5 Live Sports Extra was to
“broadcast exclusively live from Europe's biggest extreme sports and
music festival, White Air '09 in Brighton”. 5 Live‟s Commissioning Editor
Jonathan Wall said “White Air gives 5 Live Sports Extra an opportunity to
showcase hugely popular sports, which don't always get much national
exposure, and bring a flavour of the festival to our listeners.” No details of
coverage on BBC Radio 5 or Radio 4 Long Wave were announced88.
Also in September 2009, Jonathan Wall announced that the BBC was
“further expanding our sports portfolio on 5 Live Sports Extra” by
“broadcasting the first weekly live NFL programme on British radio”, with a
press release explaining “The NFL comes to BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra
with a new weekly programme every Sunday from 13 September (9.00pm-
12.30am)”. No plans were announced to broadcast any live commentary
on 5 Live or Radio 4 Long Wave suggesting that the rights were acquired
for exclusive use by 5 Live Sports Extra89.
In January 2010, the BBC announced that “BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra
will capture all the action from the two crucial AFC and NFC
championship games that will determine the finalists at the show piece
date in the NFL calendar, the Superbowl final 2010”, with a „Note to
Editors‟ explaining that “BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra is the home of BBC
radio's NFL coverage”90. Again, there were no plans to broadcast live
commentary on 5 Live or Radio 4 Long Wave.
In September 2010, the BBC announced “Live coverage of NFL games
returns to BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra for the 2010 campaign”, promising
“more games than ever before”. Again, the commentary schedule
focused exclusively on 5 Live Sports Extra91.
In March 2011, the BBC announced that 5 Live Sports Extra would
“broadcast live the first ever, regular season NBA games to be played in
Europe this weekend (Friday 4 and Saturday 5 March)”, with Jonathan
Wall saying “We know how big the NBA is in the UK and it's great that
Sports Extra can capture this historic event”92.
Other sports fixtures which are subject to full commentary coverage on 5
Live Sports Extra despite little evidence that they are commentated on by
5 Live include Moto GP, Rugby League, Italian Masters tennis, World Track
Championship Cycling and World Championship Trials Swimming. The
inclusion of Rugby League is notable, since in the past BBC management
are believed to have told listeners that is was impossible for 5 Live Sports
Extra to carry these fixtures, due to the restriction on the service carrying its
own rights93.
7.1.5. Whilst many of these rights may be acquired at minimal cost, or in the face of
minimal competitive interest, if they are acquired at all with a view to exploitation
88 BBC Press Office, Radio 5 Live Sports Extra goes extreme at White Air '09, 1 September 2009 89 BBC Press Office, „American football and US basketball join the Radio 5 Live sports portfolio with weekly NFL
show on Radio 5 Live Sports Extra and NBA Europe on 5 Live‟, 8 September 2009 90 BBC Press Office, „The NFL on 5 Live Sports Extra‟, 22 January 2010 91 BBC Sport Website, „Live NFL action returns to BBC Radio‟, 8 September 2010 92 BBC Press Office, „American Basketball on BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra as NBA comes to the UK‟, 4 March
2011 93 This is anecdotal, but we have strong basis to believe that this issue was once the subject of a edition of
Radio 4‟s Feedback programme
UTV Media (GB) response to „BBC Trust review of Radio 5 Live and Radio 5 Live Sports Extra‟ – July 11 50
by 5 Live Sports Extra rather than 5 Live or Radio 4 Long Wave, it implies that their
acquisition has been made at odds with 5 Live Sports Extra‟s formal service remit.
7.1.6. In some cases, it is our impression that the agreements to carry these sports have
come about at the instigation of the rights owners, for instance as the product of
a strategy of boosting the commercial development of the sport in question,
rather than due to a service licence or public purpose imperative. This may
particularly apply to sports with much stronger support overseas than in the UK. To
be clear, we have no visibility on whether agreements are indeed being reached
on this basis. However, if they are, it raises questions about whether the BBC is
allowing rights owners to effectively subsidise the cost of sports coverage on BBC
radio, in exchange for promotional
benefits which are accordingly
unavailable to other rights owners.
7.1.7. We urge the BBC Trust to use this review to
investigate and clarify whether 5 Live
Sports Extra has indeed acquired its own
rights, and on what basis, as it appears
from the above statements by BBC
management that the service is not
currently being operated in accordance
with its service licence.
7.1.8. In addition, there is evidence that BBC management are now seeking to define a
standalone identity and content offering for the overflow sports service. BBC
management has started to describe 5 Live Sports Extra as “the home of cricket”,
such as in its 2010 „Annual Performance against Public Commitments‟ document,
which cited the signing of Michael Vaughan as a pundit for a Test series in South
Africa as a key component in this strategy94. The rights acquisitions quoted above
also include similar language.
7.1.9. Again, we urge the BBC Trust to investigate whether BBC management‟s
programming and marketing strategy for 5 Live Sports Extra is consistent with its
published service licence remit.
7.2. 5 Live Sports Extra should operate solely as a temporary overflow during major
sporting events, rather as a full-time network '
7.2.1. At the time of writing, we are aware that the BBC may be preparing proposals for
the future of 5 Live Sports Extra as part of the anticipated „Delivering Quality First‟
announcements later this year. This possibility is evidenced not only by the above
examples of management seeking to acquire additional rights for the station and
give it a standalone identity, but also by hints from management and the BBC
Trust.
7.2.2. We agree that 5 Live Sports Extra‟s remit should indeed be reviewed, but we
propose that its long-term role should be limited to that of a temporary overflow
service which operates solely during major sporting events such as the Olympics
or Wimbledon, rather than a full-time network. In other words we propose a
reduction in its remit, rather than an expansion.
94 BBC, „2009/10 Performance Against Public Commitments‟, 2010
“5 Live Sports Extra will be
further developed and
promoted as the home of all
forms of cricket, with the Ashes
as the centrepiece”
BBC Statements of Programme
Policy, 2009/10
UTV Media (GB) response to „BBC Trust review of Radio 5 Live and Radio 5 Live Sports Extra‟ – July 11 51
7.2.3. This proposal directly contradicts the hints given by BBC management that they
would like to expand the remit of 5 Live Sports Extra:
In September 2010, Controller Adrian Van Klaveren outlined his aspiration
to “develop” 5 Live Sports Extra by providing more “breadth” for sports
fans, adding “we've already started re-running commentaries"95.
In July 2011, the BBC‟s 2011/12 workplan proposed “an additional DAB
stream to carry Olympic coverage, during the games”96. This appears to
build on previous temporary DAB services such as „BBC Tennis‟ which have
been operated by the BBC during past sports events. In February 2011, the
BBC Trust noted that this practice “raises some questions about the BBC's
use of sports rights across its radio portfolio”, requesting that the BBC
consider this area further as part of this current review97.
In February 2011, the BBC Trust‟s report on Radio 4 explained that BBC
management‟s long-term ambition is to make 5 Live Sports Extra – rather
than Radio 4 Long Wave – the home of cricket coverage under the Test
Match Special banner. The report indicated that Radio 4 Long Wave
would need to continue until “digital penetration is more or less universal”,
however we note that this statement was published before the
commencement of the BBC‟s Delivering Quality First review, and that
consideration of such a move may now be brought forward98.
7.2.4. We do not believe that there is a public service justification to expand 5 Live
Sports Extra‟s remit and use of licence fee funds, given the significant volume of
sports programming already available on UK radio. BBC management‟s rationale
for an expansion in 5 Live Sports Extra‟s remit will also be reduced should 5 Live
strengthen its delivery of minority sports coverage – as we propose above.
7.2.5. Instead, it should be the aspiration of BBC management to incrementally reduce
its dominance of the sports radio in the years to come, with 5 Live Sports Extra
reverting to an overflow service which principally operates during major sporting
events. Its output should be restricted solely to live commentary, with repeat
commentaries / highlights restricted to the BBC iPlayer where they can be
accessed on a truly on-demand basis by those listeners that wish to be able to
access this content.
7.2.6. Our proposal does acknowledge the important role that 5 Live Sports Extra plays
during major sporting events, such as the forthcoming Olympics. We accept that
it will provide significant coverage of this event and also acknowledge that this is
likely to be in the public interest. However, at other times it is reasonable to
expect that if the BBC‟s sports rights procurement processes are operating
efficiently there should be weeks in which 5 Live Sports Extra does not operate,
due to an absence of sports rights which have been acquired for 5 Live or Radio
4 Long Wave and cannot be accommodated on either service. At present, this is
not the case, with 5 Live Sports Extra providing a more or less daily service.
7.2.7. Given the comparatively high cost of Premier League, Champions League, FA
Cup and England International football rights, it raises particularly significant
questions about BBC radio sport rights procurement if premium football rights end
up being scheduled on 5 Live Sports Extra rather than 5 Live. Given 5 Live Sports
95 BBC Radio 5 Live, Victoria Derbyshire interview with Adrian Van Klaveren, 15 September 2010 96 BBC, „BBC Executive Priorities and Summary Workplan for 2011/12‟, July 2011, p. 10 97 BBC Trust, „Review of BBC Radio 3, Radio 4 and Radio 7 – Final Report‟, February 2011 98 BBC Trust, „Service Review: BBC Radio 3, BBC Radio 4 & BBC Radio 7‟, February 2011
UTV Media (GB) response to „BBC Trust review of Radio 5 Live and Radio 5 Live Sports Extra‟ – July 11 52
Extra‟s remit as an overflow service which cannot acquire its own rights, we would
not expect 5 Live Sports Extra to broadcast these fixtures, except in exceptional
circumstances (such as if there is a major breaking news event), and we suggest
that 5 Live Sports Extra‟s service licence should make this clear.
7.2.8. We also take this opportunity to express concern that costs of radio sports rights
may not be being properly ascribed to 5 Live Sports Extra within the BBC‟s current
budgeting process, meaning that the cost of acquiring rights which the BBC is
unable to accommodate on Radio 4 Long Wave or 5 Live is not properly
captured and acknowledged to the BBC Trust. For instance 5 Live Sports Extra
currently broadcasts some Premier League football (although we suggest above
that it should not). Given that [] 5 Live Sports Extra‟s annual content budget is
just £2.5m, it appears possible that the relevant cost of these carrying these
fixtures is not being properly assigned to 5 Live Sports Extra.
7.2.9. Finally we reiterate that 5 Live Sports Extra should not be considered as a potential
home for minority sports coverage on BBC radio by either BBC management or
the BBC Trust. As outlined in paragraph 6.5.2 of this response, DAB has a low
audience reach, with DAB receivers concentrated in wealthier households –
particularly in the South East of England. Instead, BBC Radio should promote
minority sports and sports participation using its principal national network for live
sport and other sports programming, i.e. 5 Live. Consigning minority sports output
to 5 Live Sports Extra otherwise would be no less counter-intuitive than restricting
Radio 1‟s widely respected specialist music programmes to 1Xtra.
7.3. Amending 5 Live Sports Extra‟s service licence
7.3.1. 5 Live Sports Extra‟s current service licence states that “BBC Five Live Sports Extra
should exploit sports rights owned by the BBC that cannot be accommodated by
BBC Radio Five Live or Radio 4 Long Wave”99. We propose that this should be
revised to accurately reflect the remit outlined in the Government‟s 2001 decision
note, which explicitly stated that 5 Live Sports Extra would “broadcast only when it
can make better use of existing sports rights already obtained for BBC radio”.
7.3.2. In other words, it should make clear that the BBC must not acquire rights
specifically for use by 5 Live Sports Extra – even if the rights are offered at low or
minimal cost, or if there is no competitive interest in the rights from commercial
broadcasters. If it is considered in the public interest for a minority sports event to
be covered on national BBC radio, then coverage should be scheduled on 5
Live.
99 5 Live Sports Extra service licence, April 2011
UTV Media (GB) response to „BBC Trust review of Radio 5 Live and Radio 5 Live Sports Extra‟ – July 11 53
BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra service licence amendments
xxi. 5 Live Sports Extra should broadcast only when it can make better use of
existing sports rights already obtained for BBC radio
xxii. 5 Live Sports Extra should principally operate during major sporting events
rather than offering a regular schedule of output
xxiii. The BBC should never acquire rights specifically for use by 5 Live Sports Extra,
even if the rights are offered at low or minimal cost, or if there is no
competitive interest in the rights from commercial broadcasters
xxiv. Output should be restricted solely to live commentary, with repeat
commentaries / highlights restricted to BBC iPlayer where they can be better
accessed on a truly on-demand basis
xxv. If it is considered in the public interest for a minority sports event to be
covered on national BBC radio, then coverage should be scheduled on 5 Live
xxvi. 5 Live Sports Extra should not broadcast Premier League football, except in
exceptional circumstances (such as when there is a major breaking news
event on 5 Live)
UTV Media (GB) response to „BBC Trust review of Radio 5 Live and Radio 5 Live Sports Extra‟ – July 11 54
8. 5 Live and 5 Live Sports Extra deliver the lowest value for money of any
national speech radio stations in the UK – with high cost areas including sports
rights
8.1. There are significant disparities between 5 Live and talkSPORT‟s respective
production budgets
8.1.1. Although we do not have access to a breakdown of 5 Live and 5 Live Sport
Extra‟s costs, the high level expenditure figures published by the BBC and BBC
Trust reveal that they are the most expensive national speech radio stations in the
UK, on a cost per listener hour basis. 5 Live‟s budgeted costs in 2011/12 are
£71.8m, of which content costs are £53.3m, distribution costs are £6.8m and
infrastructure / support costs are £11.6m100.
8.1.2. 5 Live and 5 Live Sports Extra‟s budgets are compared with that of talkSPORT‟s in
Figure 12. This shows that 5 Live‟s content budget is [] higher than that of
talkSPORT, whilst its total budget is []. talkSPORT‟s budget includes sales costs,
which 5 Live does not incur. This ratio of costs []; in 2009 John Myers reported
that the BBC was spending “an estimated £405m per annum on radio
programme production, compared to the commercial
sector‟s £74m per annum”101.
8.1.3. The talkSPORT financial data shared here is highly confidential and is provided to
the BBC Trust on the provisos that it is not disclosed to any other party, including
BBC management, and that it is used solely for the purposes of this review.
[]102,[].
100 BBC, „BBC Executive Priorities and Summary Workplan for 2011/12‟, 3 July 2011, p. 10 101 John Myers, „An Independent Review of the Rules Governing Local Content on Commercial Radio‟, April
2009 102 [].
UTV Media (GB) response to „BBC Trust review of Radio 5 Live and Radio 5 Live Sports Extra‟ – July 11 55
Figure 12. Comparison of 5 Live and talkSPORT budgets
[]
Source: BBC Executive Priorities and Summary Workplan for 2011/12‟; talkSPORT accounts
8.1.4. Building on this, Figure 13 shows that both 5 Live and 5 Live Sports Extra are around
[] more expensive on a cost per user hour basis than talkSPORT (measured in
terms of content costs, as per the methodology used in BBC Annual reports). Both
services are also nearly twice as expensive as Radio 4, on a cost per user hour
basis, and significantly more expensive than Radio 4 Extra. (We note that whilst
„cost per user hour‟ does have some merit as a means of comparing services, it
does not necessarily indicate whether a service is operating efficiently.)
Figure 13. 5 Live and 5 Live Sports Extra are the UK‟s most expensive national speech
networks on a cost per listener hour basis
[]
Source: BBC Executive Priorities and Summary Workplan for 2011/12‟; RAJAR; talkSPORT accounts
8.1.5. To attempt to explore the reasons for the cost disparities between 5 Live and
talkSPORT (aside from those which are explained by differences in service
objectives), and to understand whether 5 Live is indeed operating efficiently, we
have over the last year attempted to engage with the BBC executives for
benchmarking radio production efficiency with the commercial radio sector. We
urged the BBC to extend the scope of the 2011 review of the BBC‟s popular music
networks undertaken by John Myers to include 5 Live, and we also offered our
strong support for a proposed study involving Oliver & Ohlbaum Associates, which
was ultimately not pursued by BBC management earlier this year.
8.1.6. We continue to believe that, subject to suitable methodology and timing, there
would be value in conducting a benchmarking exercise between 5 Live and
talkSPORT. Prior to submitting our response, we understood from the BBC Trust that
it preferred not to receive detailed benchmarking data as part of this review. We
have therefore restricted ourselves to highlighting some key areas of potential
production cost disparity between 5 Live and talkSPORT:
Production staff: It is our understanding that 5 Live employs considerably
more production staff on any given programme than talkSPORT. A
daytime programme on talkSPORT typically employs [] full-time
production staff, whereas the number employed at 5 Live is typically
considerably higher.
Football commentators: When commentating on football matches
(although typically not other sports fixtures, such as minority sports), 5 Live
employs two lead commentators (who split commentating duties over the
course of the game) in addition to a co-commentator / summariser. For
instance, in the 2010/11 season, Alan Green often shared commentating
duties for Premier League clashes with another commentator such as Mike
Ingham. talkSPORT only ever employs one lead commentator (in 2010/11
UTV Media (GB) response to „BBC Trust review of Radio 5 Live and Radio 5 Live Sports Extra‟ – July 11 56
this was normally Sam Matterface), which is also the approach pursued by
the BBC on television. Our approach does not attract any negative
feedback from our listeners. The BBC has never explained why it deems it
necessary to employ two lead commentators for football commentaries
on radio, when a single commentator is judged sufficient on BBC television
and on commercial radio. It is worth noting that football commentators
can earn considerable sums. This disparity raises clear value for money
questions.
Football commentary – on-location production: [].
Outside broadcasts: When mounting an outside broadcast (OB), or
providing on-location sports commentary, talkSPORT typically sends [] to
the OB location. Our observation is that 5 Live often sends additional
presenters, as well as separate producers and engineers. This inevitably
results in higher staff, travel and accommodation costs. At the FIFA 2010
World Cup, talkSPORT sent []. It is our understanding that BBC radio sent
considerably more, despite potential synergies associated with having a
parallel TV presence in South Africa.
News: We note the finding from John Myers‟ report on Production
Efficiency at the BBC‟s popular music stations that „Newsbeat‟ employs 52
full time staff, in addition to its own technical and production personnel,
whilst Radio 2 has a team of announcers who read the news on the hour
(outside of breakfast) but do not write any of the news material
themselves. talkSPORT‟s newsreaders also research and write the news
bulletins that they present on-air, whilst it is our understanding that 5 Live‟s
production approach may be closer to the Radio 2 model103.
Distribution and support costs: Myers also found that, in relation to the
BBC‟s popular music stations, the allocated costs for “housing, general
services, transmitters, finance, royalty payments, provision of news, etc.”
were “high compared with what a reasonable practitioner would expect
to see within the accounts of any commercial operation, even allowing
for the relevance of scale”. This analysis appears also to apply to 5 Live,
which spends [] as talkSPORT, despite having very similar distribution
arrangements (multi-frequency MW network, national DAB, DTV and
internet)104.
Marketing: We note that 5 Live mounts regular marketing campaigns,
including television marketing campaigns created by an external agency.
[].
8.1.7. These examples all point to areas of expenditure in which 5 Live is potentially less
efficient than is necessary in order to deliver its service licence remit.
8.1.8. With this in mind, we reiterate our willingness to participate in a future cost
benchmarking exercise involving 5 Live and 5 Live Sports Extra, and also urge the
BBC Trust to ensure that both services are fully included within the scope of the
BBC‟s Delivering Quality First efficiency programme. Not only will this ensure that
the BBC delivers the best possible value to licence fee payers, it will also help to
minimise the BBC‟s negative competitive impact within the wider commercial
market in which it operates.
103 John Myers, „Synergies within BBC Radio 1, Radio 2, 1Xtra and 6 Music‟, May 2011 104 John Myers, „Synergies within BBC Radio 1, Radio 2, 1Xtra and 6 Music‟, May 2011
UTV Media (GB) response to „BBC Trust review of Radio 5 Live and Radio 5 Live Sports Extra‟ – July 11 57
8.1.9. Our concern that 5 Live might be excluded from aspects of the BBC‟s Delivering
Quality First programme arises from comments by BBC North Director Peter
Salmon in Ariel. Salmon stated that the BBC would not be “moving anyone [to
Salford] to make them redundant”, suggesting that 5 Live staff may be afforded a
level of job security unavailable to BBC staff at other locations – or even that the
reduction to other BBC service budgets may be more severe than experienced
by 5 Live and 5 Live Sports Extra105.
8.2. The BBC should make a meaningful reduction in its radio sports rights spending and
commit to avoid acquiring sports rights on an exclusive basis
8.2.1. One further key area where it is possible to identify inefficiency at 5 Live relates to
expenditure on sports rights. As noted above, the BBC has a number of
inappropriate targets to dominate the
sports radio market, including a target for
62% of people to rate 5 Live as best for
sport on radio. Achieving these targets
essentially requires the BBC to obtain more
sports rights than any other broadcaster.
The targets also provide the BBC with an
incentive to acquire rights on an exclusive
basis.
8.2.2. Earlier this year, it was revealed that the Premier League‟s revenue from radio
rights over three years is £42m, of which it is likely that the vast majority comes
from the BBC. []106.[] access for the BBC to four of the Premier League‟s most
attractive rights packages (out of a total of seven available) – packages which
would otherwise be offered on a free to air basis by commercial stations. As we
highlighted in 6.2, 5 Live is not required by its service licence to deliver the volume
of football commentary it currently provides. This indicates that the BBC currently
spends more on radio sports commentary rights than it needs to.
8.2.3. As part of the BBC‟s original Strategy Review proposals, the BBC proposed
capping its sports rights spending “at an average of 9p in every licence fee
pound”. The BBC‟s objective in making this proposal was to “make its behaviour
more predictable in a volatile and competitive market”107. Our response to the
BBC Strategy Review consultation outlined our support for action to control BBC
spending on sports rights, as our experience indicates that the BBC remains the
most powerful player in radio commentary rights negotiations.
8.2.4. Unfortunately, further detail has not materialised, and at any rate the BBC‟s failure
to make a targeted proposal within radio meant that 5 Live would have
remained free of any meaningful commitment to control its sports rights
expenditure even under this proposed pan-BBC cap. Radio commentary rights
are cheaper than television rights, comprising only a small portion of overall BBC
Sport rights expenditure. As a result, this pledge would allow the BBC to fund
substantial increases in its radio sports rights budget via small reductions in
television sports rights spending.
105 Ariel, „Ready for a new beginning‟, May 2011 106 MTM London, „The BBC‟s processes for the management of sports rights‟, March 2011 107 BBC, „BBC Strategy Review: Putting Quality First‟, March 2010, p. 55
“We still have an extremely
large sports rights budget
available to us"
Adrian Van Klaveren, October 2010
UTV Media (GB) response to „BBC Trust review of Radio 5 Live and Radio 5 Live Sports Extra‟ – July 11 58
BBC Radio 5 Live and 5 Live Sports Extra service licence amendments – Value for
money
xxvii. 5 Live and 5 Live Sports Extra should maximise their cost efficiency by avoiding
production expenditure which is unnecessary to delivering their respective
service licences
xxviii. 5 Live and 5 Live Sports Extra management should explore opportunities to
benchmark spending against the commercial sector
xxix. The BBC’s ongoing annual spending on radio sports rights should reflect a
meaningful reduction on 2010/11 spending levels, with the precise reduction
to be agreed with the BBC Trust
xxx. BBC radio should waive its right to exclusivity on any sports rights package
which it acquires by seeking to have exclusivity provisions removed from the
contracts it signs with rights owners
8.2.5. Action on radio sports rights spending is now clearly overdue. At a time when the
BBC is reportedly preparing to reduce service budgets by around 20%, we
propose that the BBC should make a meaningful reduction in its radio sports rights
spending, at a level to be agreed with the BBC Trust. This suggestion is deliberately
focused on expenditure / value for money, rather than the BBC‟s sports rights
acquisition processes, given that the latter is out of scope for this review.
8.2.6. A further point relates to exclusivity. Further to the BBC Trust‟s ruling on this point in
2009, and as outlined in 6.2.5 – 6.2.6, it remains our view that the BBC should do
more to ensure that its participation in exclusive rights tenders does not lead to
price inflation for radio commentary rights. In its 2010 Strategy Review document
the BBC made a commitment that it would not actively seek exclusivity, except in
exceptional circumstances. We fail to understand why it would ever be in the
public interest for BBC radio to actively seek exclusivity over sports rights and urge
the BBC Trust to clarify this point.
8.2.7. We maintain that BBC radio is yet to make a meaningful commitment in relation
to exclusivity. The BBC Trust‟s October 2009 statement contained a specific
encouragement for the BBC to identify alternatives to acquiring rights on an
exclusive basis. This goes much further than simply encouraging the BBC not to
seek exclusivity (which we have never understood the BBC to do).
8.2.8. Using licence fee funds to ensure that only BBC Radio has access to a particular
sporting fixture reduces the value generated for licence fee payers. Commercial
radio is available on the same free to air basis as the BBC, so exclusive BBC
access to sporting fixtures simply restricts the choice of sports coverage available
to radio listeners. We therefore propose that BBC radio should waive its right to
exclusivity on any sports rights package which it acquires by seeking to have
exclusivity provisions removed from the contracts it signs with rights owners. We
believe that this is within the BBC‟s gift to implement and contend that the current
system gives rise to significant potential for overspending and inefficiency.