Caroline Thompson, Chief Operating Officer at the BBC, has made comments about the closure of BBC 6 Music and changes to BBC 7.

The Guardian report which details these comments is linked below, but I'm drawn to a few quotes from the article:

"The average age of its listeners - 37 - is at the heart of the demographic targeted by commercial radio", she told delegates at a Westminster Media Forum event.

I'm intrigued to know where the commercial alternative is for those within 6 Music's demographic. Around here, alternative music is played on stations such as XFM and Absolute Radio but the diversity of music pales in comparison to the BBC's offering. By closing 6 Music, can I expect new commercial stations to appear or the aforementioned stations to broaden their playlist? I doubt it. I'd like to be proved wrong, but I'd be very surprised if I am.

There were also questions, she said, about whether the BBC should run three popular music stations - Radio 1, Radio 2 and 6 Music.

Can 6 Music really be labelled is a 'popular music station'? It's not exactly playing Cheryl Cole, Pixie Lot and Scouting for Girls is it? A diverse playlist that leads the listener on a journey of musical discovery and appreciation is not popular music. A playlist that gives airtime to the struggling indie artist is not popular music. Yes, okay, there may be some similarities between these three stations particularly when considering the specialist aspects of Radios 1 and 2. The daytime playlist of those two though is unashamedly mainstream and safe.

...the money saved by the closure would be reinvested in radio, with a particular focus on digital services.

It's interesting that 6 Music is a radio station and a digital service. Am I missing the point?

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Tags: broadcasting, radio