I am dismayed at the BBC Trust's proposal in its Strategy Review to close BBC Radio 6 Music.To quote the BBC itself, the station "brings together the cutting edge music of today, the iconic and groundbreaking music of the past 40 years".
Radio 6 Music is distinctive and valuable, and offers a place for exciting new acts to be heard. It provides its listeners with content that no independent commercial broadcaster offers, and has helped artists like Florence + The Machine reach greater audiences. At 3.4 pence per listener hour, 6 Music is also good value for money. Closing 6 Music would generate a very modest saving, and it is not clear that this would be worth losing such a distinctive station.
The future of 6 Music is a decision for the BBC Trust to make after they have consulted with licence fee payers. Whatever decision is made, the Liberal Democrats are adamant that it must be in line with the BBC’s purpose: to make programmes that are distinctive, high quality, and of good value. I am unconvinced that shutting 6 Music would contribute to these goals.
There are two other aspects of the BBC Trust's proposals that concern me. Firstly, the proposal to close the Asian Network is difficult to understand as is the proposal about :
"... not offering any more localised services than the BBC already does – for example, new services for individual towns or cities."
I have given my feedback to the BBC consultation on the Trust's proposals and you can give your views to the BBC on their proposals by clicking here.