Jonathan Ross's Radio 2 show loses nearly 200,000 listeners

chris

Jonathan Ross's BBC Radio 2 show lost nearly 200,000 listeners – a dip of 6% – in the second quarter of this year.

The most recent three-month period includes at least six shows broadcast after the BBC ruled in May that Ross's Saturday programme must be pre-recorded the day before transmission after a series of controversies about his on-air comments.

Ross's Radio 2 show came under intense scrutiny from inside and outside the BBC after he returned in late January after a three-month unpaid suspension imposed as a punishment for "Sachsgate", when the station broadcast prank messages that he and Russell Brand left on Andrew Sachs's answer phone.

The controversial presenter's Saturday morning show had 2.85 million listeners each week on average in the three months to the end of June, compared with 3.03 million in the previous three months and 3.04 million in the same period in 2008, according to official Rajar listening figures published today.

When Ross's show was switched from live to a pre-record the BBC said he was not unhappy with the move and Radio 2 controller Bob Shennan said he did not expect the decision to affect its quality or spontaneity.

"I think Jonathan is a wonderful broadcaster. I want to see it have a healthy long-term future and make it absolutely watertight," Shennan told the Radio Festival in Nottingham in July. "The truth is that half the programmes he has presented since he came back [after his three-months post-Sachsgate suspension] have already been pre-recorded."

But former BBC Radio 1 controller Matthew Bannister said in May, soon after the decision was made to pre-record Ross's show, that it would feel "less spontaneous and exciting".

"Once you have taken the decision to pre-record a music radio sequence, it does make a change to the show and to the adrenaline that not only the presenters but the guests feel. If you are recording it, you can go back and retake stuff. You don't have that sense that every word you say on air counts," added Bannister.

"The audience will have a subtly different reaction to it. Somehow you can tell when a show has been produced a day before or a week before. One of the joys of listening to Jonathan Ross has always been for me anyway to listen to him walk the tightrope between what is acceptable and what is not acceptable."

Among Radio 2's other high-profile stars, drivetime presenter Chris Evans had a weekly reach of 5.35 million listeners, up from 5.24 million in the previous quarter and 5.23 million in the same period of 2008.



Source:MediaGuardian

Corin

The praise uttered by BBC Radio 2 Controller Shennan "I think Jonathan is a wonderful broadcaster." reveals how depraved management and values are at the BBC today.

Wonderful broadcasters do not engage in offensive childish antics which cause their suspension for three months, and also that require their programs to be recorded rather than broadcast live because their unpredictable behavior may contravene community standards.

rolfw

I certainly wouldn't disagree with that Corin.

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