This isn't the first time this has happened at Radio 1. Twenty years ago, after having basically the same jock lineup for 25 years and having to bear with Harry Enfield's "Smashie and Nicey" sketches making fun of the increasingly out-of-it talent, R1 had a bloodbath where everyone except John Peel and Annie Nightingale got fired. Everything went OK eventually, but R1 isn't the UK's top-rated radio anymore. That's now BBC Radio 2, which got a long-overdue overhaul of its own at the end of the 90s from an adult standards format to a hipper sort of adult contemporary--with many of the old R1 jocks. In addition, it's become now understood that once R1 jocks become a certain age they transition to R2.
As for the age thing, R1's remit has always been as an under-35 network. It was created because of the laws that closed down the pirate stations and the huge reaction to those laws among young people of 1967. The Beeb doesn't have to sell advertising, but they are expected to appeal to the license payers of all ages (something that PBS and NPR have never been charged with doing, since the commercial networks were already established with mass appeal entertainment), and that's why they have a Radio 1 playing Carly Rae Jepsen, a Radio 2 playing 60s and 70s songs (and still with night and Sunday speciality shows devoted to show tunes, standards, organ music, brass bands and a live Friday night "pops" orchestra concert for the even older listener), a Radio 3 playin Beethoven, a Radio 4 with a serious morning news show and Radio 5 Live with sports coverage and U.S.-style talk shows. And that's also why the TV people have "Strictly Come Dancing" along with Sir David's nature documentaries and Shakespeare plays. On Fri, Jul 13, 2012 at 11:15 AM, Kevin M. <[email protected]>wrote: > As this thread has become all things BBC-related, worth noting BBC > Radio 1's morning radio show featuring Chris Moyles is going off the > air after nearly a decade. > > > http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/2012/jul/12/chris-moyles-nick-grimshaw-breakfast?newsfeed=true > > I'm sure the Brits on the list know more about this than I do, but I > guess Radio 1 is trying to skew younger. This annoys me for three > reasons: > > 1 -- Isn't BBC public broadcasting, and thus it should not matter how > old their 8 million morning listeners are > 2 -- The music they play is the stuff you'd hear on KISS-FM in the US > (Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, etc)... not exactly music geared towards older > folks (except those creepy old guys who still go clubbing long after > they ought to) > 3 -- Moyles is roughly the same age as me, and it is humbling that > this undeniably means I'm "too old" by the Beeb's standards > > The new head of the BBC stated in an interview this week that they are > doing away with the "zoo format" and making the new kid fly solo. I > saw a picture of the new AM host and -- I think because of all the > hype surrounding a younger demographic -- I was reminded of Blue's > Clues. I will now picture Nick Grimshaw in a wide-striped shirt, alone > in a booth each morning, playing "I'm the Map" from Dora the Explorer > on constant rotation. > -- > Kevin M. (20th high school reunion is this weekend, so I'm feeling my > age lately) > > -- > TV or Not TV .... The Smartest (TV) People! > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google > Groups "TV or Not TV" group. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected] > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected] > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en > -- TV or Not TV .... The Smartest (TV) People! You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TV or Not TV" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en
