The for-profit division also has more freedom to pay extra money to retain top talent, which has previously led to prominent podcasters leaving the BBC. One side-effect of moving programmes to BBC Studios is that the division does not have to declare the salaries it pays to leading presenters and producers.

They just want to tarmac it over and have the decking out.”Įarlier this month official listening figures showed a substantial drop in the audience for Radio 4, with the BBC suggesting it is responding to consumer behaviour by prioritising investment in podcasts and on-demand listening rather than traditional radio stations. If you imagine radio as a soundgarden, then all those little flowers won’t get planted. They said BBC bosses increasingly wanted hit podcasts, rather than unusual or quirky one-off programmes: “It’s a muddy and confused idea of what public service broadcasting is. One staff member whose job could be affected said the plans risked creating a “ghettoisation of traditional public service radio”.

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