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Media
BBC local stations to share drive times
By CMU Editorial | Published on Wednesday 24 November 2010
Stations in the BBC’s local radio network are to share more programmes as budgets are squeezed. The aim of the move, which will mainly affect afternoon output, is to make more money available to spend on primetime morning shows. Unlike the national networks, the BBC’s local radio stations have always been run on something a shoestring.
The new move to afternoon programme sharing will be tested in Yorkshire and the South East from next month. BBC Radios Leeds, York and Sheffield will all get the same drive time show, presented by Liz Green, while in the South BBC Radios Kent, Sussex and Surrey will all take a Dominic King afternoon show.
Says the Beeb’s English Regions Controller David Holdsworth: “We need more production effort and we know that there simply isn’t any more money available to allow us to add extra people onto the payroll. So we need to redirect resources to [certain] programmes to strengthen our journalism. This trial will allow us to assess the market impact and the audience reaction to the extension of the current practice of BBC Local radio regional sharing in other parts of the schedule”.
