Old Codger Fan

Interesting concept, although I'd still want to keep the traditional '1,2,3' etc on the actual stations, mixing it up a bit on BBC Sounds could encourage more adventurous listening, for those who are a little stuck in their ways ... That said, and going off-piste again for a moment - I would have kept BBC3 on television, but re-named it 'BBC Fun & Games' - making it the home of all sport and quiz shows ...

6Music and Radio 2: I've said this before - and- before anyone jumps in, I do know this is never going to happen! - But this is my fantasy-world of being in charge of everything, so there! .... Greg James for a 'Triple Decker Breakfast' show, simulcasting across Radio 1, Radio 2 and 6Music. With an equal mix of the most perky/ catchy numbers from the current three playlists.

Indeed so - We can especially do without constant reminders of artists very few of us cared about, first time round (e.g. Spin Doctors) ...

Yep, fair enough - Just to be clear though, I'm primarily talking about boiling the best output from the whole group down into three stations .... So the sports coverage could have a home on 'Virgin 2' (or whatever you want to call it) - Likewise, more serious talk spots on '3' could still be sponsored by The Times ....

Virgin, Virgin Anthems, Virgin Groove, TalkSport, TalkSport 2, TalkRadio and Times Radio: Way too much indifferent material being churned out by this group. Could easily be condensed down to 'Virgin', 'Virgin 2' and 'Virgin 3'.

Greatest Hits Radio: It's good for an hour, here and there, but the '70s, 80s and 90s' rule is way too restrictive. It means they can't even play newer releases by the oldsters, that their audience might like (e.g. Tom Jones). Would be a fine thing just to have an allowance to go 'off-rule' with one track, per show ...

Oooh boy, I could be here all day! So best just pick one for now - Absolute Radio. Two major annoyances - Too many adverts, and not enough range 'across the decades' on DAB/ MW. I'd earmark particular one-hour blocks through the week, with no adverts in them. And then further earmark the middle-hours of some three-hour shows a particular decade, on a rota. So a 'no-advert guarantee', 7pm-8pm on Sundays (during request show), for example ... And 5pm-6pm with Bush & Ritchie could be 80's on Mon, 90's on Tues, 00's on Wed, and 10's on Thurs.

Do you mean - Which shows from other stations do we consider to be particularly good quality?

Yeah, maybe. Still a long wait though.

The ones already announced.

Anyone else feeling that September is quite a long wait for the major schedule changes, and that they should crack on with as many as possible sooner?

I'm going to stick my oar in here (again!) and say that I think Jack Saunders at 8pm is a great move. Entertainment at mid-morning (RM&C) should be a higher priority, and I've always found Saunders a bit too 'lively' past 10pm. Plus, there was a thread on here some time ago bemoaning the downgrading of Indie* - so 8pm raises it's profile again, and will be a positive choice for those of us who would rather stick with the radio than switch to the TV, in the evening. 10pm for chill material works for me, too - It will compete with Gideon Coe on 6 for my affections. It's really not like me to be so welcoming of change, so surprised myself by writing all this! (* broadly speaking - anything made by non-millionaires, where you can hear (at least some) real instruments, and non-autotuned vocals).

If it happens quickly, then we'll know the 'more time writing and with my children' was the polite cover-story. Graham Norton always liked to joke that he was 'too lazy' to do more than one day a week at R2 .. right up to the moment when he was offered two days on Virgin.

There's been a real dearth of strong personalities on mid-morning for years ... You may even have to go back as far as The Two Simons (Bates, Mayo) for when there was some really distinctive offering on at that time (Yes, I am THAT ancient ...) - so making RM&C 'mainstream' must be a good shout.

... Well, this thread suddenly got a whole lot more relevant! ,,,

Impressive! - How do we nominate you for next Controller?

^ That's a whole lotta chill! ^

^ Further to the above: I missed the moment itself - good job, because it was even worse than the aftermath (which you may remember me complaining about at the time) - Alex Belfield gives a full survey here - Watch from 02:30 onwards. ? WATCH ? BBC Unforgivable Prince Philip Coverage ? Indefensible Unprofessionalism? £3B Disgrace - YouTube

^ Just a shame that "Absolute 10's" not available on DAB ? ^

The music they play on their own show is not for me, but they always make a really entertaining job of things, when covering for others.

Sorry, still don't see it. Radio 1 'does it right' when it enthuses about new music. That's what it was set up to do. Certainly, the adverse 'scrutiny' it has attracted on this forum is due to it's failure to do that. The Head Of State dying? - Sure, we'll all expect a significant shift of tone & emphasis, across all media. But - the spouse of the Head Of State?? - A man who was NOTED (and, in the end, celebrated) for blurting out awkward things? -- The more you think about it, the less sense it makes ...........

Trouble is, everything JW does in that time slot, Janice Long does over on Radio Wales, only so much better ...

I don't get the 'very careful' bit. As if the Queen would be saying, 'They better not be playing The Chart today!' ...

Exactly right. But how to feed that back to the decision-makers??

He always seems to go up a gear when co-presenting - I'd put him with a newbie female in a more relaxed, late evening spot.