Radio 4 is a mixed speech service, offering in-depth news and current affairs and a wide range of other speech output including drama, readings, comedy, factual and magazine programmes. The service aims to appeal to listeners seeking intelligent programmes in many genres which inform, educate and entertain.
Accurate, impartial and independent news and current affairs are the backbone of the Radio 4 schedule and cover the full range of domestic and international issues. This output is complemented by other challenging and engaging speech programmes across a broad array of genres.
Radio 4 seeks to reflect the diversity of the UK across its whole schedule. It takes risks, challenges received wisdom and invests in original content rarely found elsewhere. Its drama, readings and innovative comedy come from both new and established talent.
The service is available on Long Wave, offering listeners the chance to opt out of the main schedule to live coverage of major events or sporting fixtures.
Key priorities for Radio 4 this year include:
Priority |
Rationale |
Enhance the impact of drama output, including multi-part dramas based on contemporary and historical themes in the Afternoon Play and Friday Play slots. |
Radio 4 is the UK's major commissioner of radio drama, and is committed to delivering the best experiences for its listeners through its varied drama output. |
New, extended narrative history series on a variety of subjects, such as classical music and democracy. |
Radio 4 offers factual programming of a sweep and ambition unmatched in any other UK broadcast media. |
Widen the appeal of the output through:
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Radio 4 aims to attract new listeners to speech radio, including extending its reach among 35-54 year olds, while also keeping existing listeners engaged and entertained. |
Sustaining citizenship
Radio 4 provides in-depth radio news and current affairs, bringing listeners accurate, authoritative reports and analysis of domestic and global affairs through daily programmes - such as Today, The World at One and PM - and weekly news bulletins and sequence programmes. News programmes and other factual output reflect the contemporary social, economic and political reality of the UK and offer listeners access to the range of views surrounding contemporary issues.
We will break stories with programmes such as File on 4 and scrutinise issues in The Week in Westminster and Analysis. Parliamentary proceedings are reported daily whenever Parliament is sitting.
This year we will provide impartial, rigorous and substantial analysis of the political parties' campaigns for the Scottish Parliament, the Welsh and Northern Irish Assemblies, and the English local elections in May. We will also provide extensive coverage of leadership changes in the Labour Party and in Government.
This year we will:- Broadcast at least 2,500 hours of news and current affairs programmes.
Stimulating creativity and cultural excellence
Radio 4 commissions programmes from a diverse range of suppliers across numerous genres and is the primary market in the UK for independently produced speech radio. We are a leading patron of the art of radio drama. We will broadcast plays by outstanding dramatists, as well as by many writers new to radio. And we will broadcast multi-part dramas, based on contemporary and historical themes, in the Afternoon Play and Friday Play slots.
We also devote large parts of our schedule to the exploration of literature and the arts in general, through documentaries, debates and reviews. We will continue to provide a range of programmes relating to literature, such as Book Club, Open Book and A Good Read. In 2007 we will establish a presence at the Hay Festival of Literature.
Radio 4 is the home of radio comedy, developing many of the programmes and comedy talents which grow and find a place on television. We will extend our comedy programming from the Glastonbury Festival.
This year we will:- Broadcast at least 730 hours of original drama and readings.
- Ensure that at least of 25% of new Afternoon Plays will be first or second commissions from writers new to radio.
- Broadcast at least 180 hours of original comedy.
- Contribute to BBC Radio's commitment to commission at least 10% of eligible hours of output from independent producers.
Promoting education and learning
Alongside the schools programmes broadcast overnight on digital platforms, Radio 4 makes a significant contribution to the BBC's provision of informal learning opportunities, making specialist subjects accessible and providing in-depth examination through a diverse range of programmes and genres such as In Business and The Bottom Line (business), Money Box (finance) and Gardeners' Question Time (gardening). It regularly explores the sciences, including natural history and medicine, in strands such as Nature, Material World and Case Notes. Programmes are planned covering the changing face of London, the state of the newspaper industry and contemporary sexuality.
Weekly documentaries in the Archive Hour strand will continue to take fresh approaches to understanding the recent past. A longer historical view will be provided in major authored narrative series on classical music and democracy. Key anniversaries this year, such as those of the independence of India and Pakistan, the Falklands conflict and the Six Day War, will be marked across the schedule.
A multi-platform event on migration, World on the Move, will be developed in partnership with the Open University to extend the reach and impact of broadcast and online content.
For 2007/2008 Radio 4 will:- Broadcast at least 200 hours of original documentaries.
Representing the UK's nations, regions and communities
Radio 4 aims to reflect the diversity of the UK by recording a wide variety of programmes with audiences at venues across the UK - every week a religious service, a current affairs debate and a gardening programme are broadcast from different parts of the country. Comedy game shows such as Just a Minute are also broadcast from venues across the UK.
We will continue to provide live worship and in-depth reporting of religious affairs across major faiths. Strands such as Sunday and Beyond Belief will go beyond polemics to probe the world of religion, illuminating the varieties of belief between and within faith communities. We will provide live coverage of significant state events, enabling people across the UK to share a sense of unity.
Devotees of cricket will continue this year to find Test Match Special on Radio 4 Long Wave, which will provide ball-by-ball coverage of the World Cup as well as Test Match series.
For 2007/2008 Radio 4 will:- Broadcast at least 200 hours of original religious programming.
Bringing the UK to the world and the world to the UK
Radio 4 covers international issues and events in breadth and in depth - covering an extensive range of stories and issues, and enhancing daily news with programmes such as Crossing Continents that explore international issues in considerable depth. In this way Radio 4 helps people make sense of the world we inhabit.
In 2007 the Reith Lectures, Bursting at the Seams, will be given by economist Jeffrey Sachs. Recorded in London, Edinburgh, New York and Beijing, they will offer fresh insight into global challenges to audiences in the UK and - via the web and BBC World Service - worldwide.
Emerging communications
In addition to analogue broadcasting, Radio 4 is available on DAB and via digital television, and is streamed on the internet. Some programmes are available on demand after broadcast, extending the life of the programmes by making them accessible to listeners for whom a linear schedule is not convenient. This year we will relaunch our website to offer users a radically new way of navigating across the schedule and finding the content they want.
Reach: Radio 4 should contribute towards the maintenance of combined BBC weekly reach for all BBC services at over 90% by aiming to maintain its own weekly reach.
Quality: Audience approval of Radio 4 and perceptions of it as high quality and innovative. Also, the proportion of originated programmes across all hours (including repeats).
Impact: Audience perceptions of Radio 4 as informative, engaging and challenging.
Value for money: Radio 4's cost per listener hour.