Just A Minute

Me – I’d be surprised if Paul wanted to continue, that the BBC would can it. I’ve thought for a time, that Gyles is the most likely replacement.

 

Mind you, I’d love to have a go at it!

 

 

Wayne said:

is the show in a position to remain being broadcast? Radio and TV being the way it is and driven by numbers does anyone know how these are stacking up compared to other years.

 

Me – The general future of radio is an interesting subject, which I know a bit about as I work in radio. Radio has not been as badly affected with slumps in audiences as TV and newspapers. There has been some drop-off for music stations but talk based radio is standing up really well. Radio Four (the station that broadcasts JAM for those outside the UK) is actually experiencing rising ratings at the moment with its flagship breakfast news programme Today recently beating the BBC’s lighter format breakfast radio programme on Radio Two for the first time. I think radio is surviving the internet challenge because it has many of the same advantages as the Internet – the immediacy, the portability, the interactivity. Over time clearly more people will be listening to radio on devices that don’t look much like the old radio, but I think the medium’s future is quite bright. On JAM specifically, the ratings I haven’t been able to find, but I read a few years ago that JAM and Clue are the top raters of BBC comedy shows – I think Clue was slightly ahead. And the BBC’s major celebrations last year for the 45th anniversary suggest they rate JAM as an important show. I think the recent appointment of Katie Tyrrell, one of BBC Radio’s best and most experienced comedy producers, is also a good sign for the show’s future.