Is Britain ready for an alternative quality speech radio station?
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Matt Hopper posted on Wednesday 29th February 2012 at 11:25We think so. Today, we have launched a new project designed to explore the possibility of starting a new quality speech radio station.
http://www.britishpublicradio.com
We know there are a lot of good speech radio programmes which are either never made or never heard in Britain (or only heard in podcast form); we believe there is an untapped market for speech radio which is more accessible than that currently available in the UK; and we want to bring the two together.
British Public Radio is now seeking support from owners and creators of speech radio content to help populate a pilot schedule and take the project to the next investment phase, creating a new broadcast platform and an exciting new revenue stream for programme makers. Do you have any such content? Then we would very much like to hear from you.
Your comments, feedback and of course interest would be much appreciated.
I thought the key part in the video was about making it pay. It might not be about whether the public is ready… but whether advertisers are.
Plus I would have thought that producing and MAINTAINING good speech output would be expensive?
Hi Matt,
I really like the idea of this, however, just wonder how this can be commercially viable or self-sustaining when even cheap community radio stations are folding all the time?
Facts are:
Speech radio = cheap (Talk Sport minus the football rights)
Quality speech radio = expensive (Radio 4, BBC content)
Difficult to put content where the audience is in a meaningful way.
Who is the target audience?
What’s the delivery platform in a way that anyone can access it and how can it be funded?
How can it be self-sufficient?
How can the service attract an audience?
- Is this a national zeitgeist?
- So not like Talk Sport or 5 Live then?
- Podcast and Internet or Freesat/view platform/with an on demand element via the same mux? Would the BBC be happy to provide capacity on their national framework?
- And this would be achieved by producing schools programmes perhaps?
To make it work it would possibly need to be a co-operative venture and share any income (and debts) with the programme makers etc.
Like the idea, if you can solve the self-sustaining question Global are likely to offer you a seat on the board.
The key is to broaden the commercial model away from the traditional advertising/sponsorship picture. Digital delivery offers income opportunities away from this. No, it’s not going to be cheap, but we believe there is enough material and ideas in the English speaking world to maintain a service. The project could also be of interest to strategic partners, i.e. publishers not yet in the audio domain seeking a new outlet.
I’m rather supportive of this idea (and it’s my voice that pops up occasionally in the material online). Particularly, I think there are significant good podcasts and material from the US, Canada and Australia that would ensure this station is an interesting and vibrant listen.
Hi James, and thanks for your valuable support thus far. You’re absolutely right about searching globally for content. It’s very much top of mind for us, as well as fostering great relationships with domestic providers.
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Good Idea Matt bring back the old vaules of LBC about time the beeb had a challange