Davie: close down 6 Music? Not me
Tim Davie, the BBC head of Audio and Music, who signally failed to make the case for shutting 6 Music, has spoken for the first time since the Trust threw his proposals out.
In an awkward grilling by Steve Hewlett on the Radio 4 Media Show, David admitted: “We’ve been pushed back. The licence fee-payer has spoken and we’re listening.”
At times, it’s hard to believe this is the same BBC executive who said six months ago that 6 needed to close so the money could be spent on marketing the other digital stations and other wheezes.
Far from trying to close 6 and disenfranchise one million music fans, Davie says his plan merely “questioned the value of having a standalone network called 6.” There was “a large amount of agreement” between Davie’s strategy and the Trust, which actually ruled that his plan lacked any strategic rationale.
The aim was to “shake hard the whole radio industry” to ask just how the move to digital would be delivered. “I absolutely accept that 6 is now part of the plan,” says Davie, confirming that the closure proposal won’t be brought back.
People feel passionately about 6, he admits and says the musical genres it gives exposure to, should be supported by the BBC. And with 1.3 million listeners as a result of the protest campaign, 6 is no longer a “niche” station, Davie concludes, fuelling conspiracy theories that this was all a profile-raising venture.
6 Music DJ Laverne: saved
6 Music might not stay the same though. There needs to be more linkage between the digital stations and their analogue sisters, says Davie, in the way BBC Three cross-promotes on BBC One and Two. Davie cites the impact of ”digital previews of soap operas” on TV, a highly Reithian example. The move to rebrand BBC 7 as Radio 4 Extra will go ahead.
Interestingly, Sir Michael Lyons, BBC Trust chairman, suggests that 6 Music may not survive indefinitely. The BBC still has 12 digital and analogue radio stations, too many for some.
“I’m not sure that they can (remain) for ever and a day,” says Sir Michael, who praises 6 for providing the kind of distinctive, quality service that he wants to see across the BBC’s TV channels, which the Trust criticised for a lack of ambition.
Those who enjoy hearing BBC execs standing on their heads will enjoy the performance of Davie, whose salary for the previous year rose by £49,000 to £452,000. He denies that his credibility has been shot and lives to fight another day, all the while tuning in to 6 Music, his new favourite station.
