Review of six stations found it was failing ethnic minority audiences. Only 34% of black, Asian and minority ethnic tune into any of stations. Problem also faced by BBC television at 74% compared to 86% of all adults. Radio 1 praised for its progress in reaching 23% of BAME aged 15-24.
The BBC’s music radio services have been branded too white by the Corporation’s watchdog.
A review of the six stations by the BBC Trust has raised concerns that they are failing ethnic minority audiences.
Radio 2 was highlighted as having particular difficulties in attracting non-white listeners and the Trust has demanded the station urgently improve and report on progress in six months.
The comments echo criticisms made in 2001 by then director-general Greg Dyke, who said the BBC was ‘hideously white’ and had race relations as poor as the Metropolitan Police.
While yesterday’s report accepts that the BBC has improved over recent years, it states that, ‘like BBC television, BBC radio serves BAME audiences less well than it does white listeners.’
BAME stands for black, Asian and minority ethnic.
It pointed to statistics that show only 34 percent of BAME adults tune in to one of the six music radio stations – Radio 1, 1Xtra, Radio 2, Radio 3, 6 Music and Asian Network – each week. This compares to 49 percent of all adults regardless of ethnicity.
Although the BAME figure is up from 29 percent five years ago, the Trust said the BBC must still improve further.
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