I should perhaps confess that I am a very light listener to BBC Radio 4, Mark. I prefer to listen to BBC Radio 3 in general, although the advantage, if there is one, is that I am very specific in what I listen to on 4, and I will listen with full attention. The issue of repeats therefore does not bother me in the slightest.

I understand the economics of the situation. The bigger your budget, the fewer the repeats. As the BBC is constrained, your budget is under pressure. In all likelihood, therefore, we shall see more repeats on BBC Radio 4, and elsewhere on the BBC over coming years.

In terms of what you choose to repeat, and what you choose not to repeat, this decision is, in my opinion, a tough call. I would say that some of the very best broadcasts get relatively small audiences, and it would be good if more listeners had the opportunity to listen. Of course, Mark, as a Controller, you cannot ultimately control what listeners will tune into, but I would say that if you feel that something merits a wider audience, you ought to try and give it a wider audience. Cheers (dinner)! c.

There's repeats and there's repeats isn't there?

I'm coming to the conclusion that I may be an unusual Radio 4 listener. For many, it is on foreground or background for much of the day, attention waxing and waning according to inclination. I on the other hand scour the Radio 4 (and cast an eye over R3 and BBC7) schedules and do much of my selective listening in LA mode. Thus I have a different take on the whole matter of repeats. You, understandably, come from the view of trying to juggle a weekly schedule to a predominantly live audience and who still outnumber the 'connecteds' by a large factor. Fair enough. It won't always be that way though. How much longer will the live audience outnumber the non-live audience? Ten years? Five? How rapid is that change, and the change to an audience who can switch between live and non-live modes?

Some of the better plays seem to be on a 2-year (approx) repeat cycle. Again, no objection in principle, but why is it we rarely get older gems? Is it because such material hasn't been digitised or that the attention span of the producers can't hack it? Radio 4 has one of the greatest sound archives in the universe; great plays, great documentaries, great interviews, and no doubt great other things as well. BBC7 carries only a particular slice of this archive.

Use that archive. Use it and start to plug it into iPlayer. There's a whole new mini-channel for you, and it won't cost you a penny. (Well, not many.)

And there you were telling us you are trying to save money. No such luck, matey. We want more, not less.

Russ

P.S. Yes, this week's Archive on 4 was very good.

P.P.S. Us plebs don't get to see any audience figures for specific programmes, and often waste time arguing about such things and whether they might amount to anything meaningful even if we did know them. Having let the cat out of the bag though, how's about you putting us out of our misery and giving a few more numbers?

I would agree with Russ here, Mark. There is no reason, in my view, why you should not be totally transparent about audience numbers for specific programmes on BBC Radio 4. It would certainly make a refreshing change for the BBC.

Russ is also right to highlight the glories of the archive which the BBC, and BBC Radio 4 in particular, has available to it. As your budget is obviously under pressure, Mark, a more imaginative use of the archive would be an obvious route forward.

Of course, as discerning listeners, we also want new 'stuff' as well, but broadcasting, in my view, has been an experiment. You put something out there, and you see whether it works.

As for the digital revolution (etc.), well, here you are, Mark, engaging with your (potential) audience online. Cheers (morning coffee)!

;)

Mr Damazer sir, would you be in the market place for a suggestion for an afternoon play repeat ?

I can't remember the title but know it was a play about a bowls club and one elderly couple's attempts to swing a win at the tournament.

I do listen to Radio 4 from dawn til dusk so I am very conscious of repeats. But this is to be expected... those robbed of the luxury of regular access to your excellent programmes are entitled to catch-up!. I do switch to BBC7 whose schedule is repeated during the course of the day. As I choose not to watch television, radio is my main staple for entertainment and current affairs so I listen around the repeats and use the listen again facility for programmes I have missed. As most of the popular repeats are of such good entertainment value it is often enjoyable to hear them again.