5 Live review: a missed opportunity

The BBC Trust today published its conclusions on the service licence review of 5 live and 5 live Sports Extra which RadioCentre responded to in June 2011.  The conclusions of the review are located here and summarised below.

RadioCentre is pleased to note that, as recommended in our response, the Trust has identified the service should prioritise news and minority sport more than it currently does. Specifically the Trust has recommended that:

• 5 live should aim to raise awareness of its news output;
• the licence will be amended to focus on clearer commitments to breaking news;
• 5 Live’s expenditure should be rebalanced towards news;
• there should be coverage of a broader range of sports on the stations other than football, specifically in peak listening hours; and
•  BBC management should work to benchmark its costs with other services.

However, we are concerned that no attention has been given to the role the services have in reflecting the UK’s nations, regions and communities with regards to regional news reporting, or using 5 live Sports Extra as a means to drive further digital growth by making it the home of popular sport.  We will be meeting with the Trust to follow-up on these issues in due course.

In response to the Trust’s conclusions Andrew Harrison, Chief Executive of RadioCentre, said:

“This is a worthy and thorough analysis by the BBC Trust.  Its recommendations suggest some modest changes to 5 Live’s operation but miss the opportunity to provide the step change that some had called for.  5 Live should always be a beacon of excellence in delivering the BBC’s highest editorial priority, to provide the best journalism in the world.

The report highlights several areas, identified by listeners and commercial radio broadcasters, which will enable 5 live to fulfil its public service remit more effectively.  We welcome these.  Particularly encouraging are measures to prioritise high quality news coverage and feature minority sport more regularly, factors that should help distinguish it from other services.  Reducing the future amount of non-news items and Premier League Football coverage on the services are also a step in the right direction. 

Nevertheless, at a time of intense public scrutiny on journalistic standards this seems like a missed opportunity for the BBC.”