Thursday (10/27) on the Guardian online (London), John Plunkett writes, “It traditionally enjoys a surge in summer listening on the back of the Proms, the world’s greatest classical music festival. But BBC Radio 3, which recently introduced changes to its schedule in a bid to broaden its appeal, lost more listeners than any other BBC national radio station in the three months to 18 September. Radio 3 had an average of 2.05 million weekly listeners across the quarter, down 5.6% on the previous three months and 4.3% year-on-year, according to official Rajar statistics published on Thursday. The figures are only a partial reflection of the new schedule, which was introduced in September and included a new weekday morning show, Essential Classics, and listener requests on the breakfast show. … One critic described the most recent changes to the station as ‘cultural vandalism’. … A Radio 3 spokeswoman said: ‘We are pleased that Radio 3 continues to attract an audience of more than 2 million—a figure around which the station’s audience traditionally fluctuates—to its unique range and depth of classical music and cultural programming.’ ”
Posted October 28, 2011
