BBC told youth push will turn off listeners

Executives accused of urging staff to ‘run around as if our pants were on fire’ to woo younger listeners

The BBC risks destroying its own radio services in a bid to appeal to younger listeners, a veteran Today programme presenter has said. Executives have argued that traditional radio is out of date and “needs to earn its place” in the digital age. But Justin Webb claims attempts to lure youth to the airwaves will undermine the medium. BBC strategy and resources have been skewed towards trying to lure younger audiences from new online media, as several new presenters and podcasts were announced earlier this year.

BBC bosses risk “destroying” radio services to appease younger listeners, Justin Webb has warned.

The veteran Today programme presenter claims that attempts to lure youth to the airwaves will undermine the medium. Executives have previously argued that traditional radio is out of date and “needs to earn its place” in the digital age.

BBC strategy and resources have been skewed towards trying to attract younger audiences amid fears they are flocking to new media online, and a string of new presenters and podcasts were announced earlier this year.

Webb, who has presented the Today programme for more than 10 years, warned that a “panic” appeal to youth is short-sighted and could result in quality radio being diluted and destroyed. He has become the latest highprofile BBC member of staff to criticise the corporation.

John Sergeant, the veteran political correspondent, has recently branded the licence fee “a form of poll tax” that is increasingly hard to justify, and Victoria Derbyshire, the presenter, lashed out at the broadcaster after her BBC Two show was cancelled last month.

Webb said corporation executives encouraged staff to “run around as if our pants were on fire” over failing to attract younger listeners.

In a Radio Times article, Webb said his employer faces the temptation to “chop up its output into the bite-sized chunks those in charge think ‘yoof ’ might consume”. The presenter added that radio would “only outlive the panic if well-meaning bosses resist the temptation to destroy the wireless in order to save it”.

Webb believes this shift towards appeasing young listeners could leave no mature material when the rising generation matures. He argues: “Perhaps the young will get old. It has happened before. Perhaps radio will outlive this panic, as it has outlived all others and potentially those to come.”

The presenter said he feared his daughter would have no Today programme to listen to when she reaches an age to enjoy it.

Concerns over output on the airwaves were raised in January by James Purnell, BBC head of radio and education. He claimed: “Radio used to be a background medium, often put on without thinking. But not any more: now it needs to earn its place in someone’s day.”

This followed Lord Hall, the director-general, telling staff early in the New Year that the BBC was “shifting money to change the mix of content on our channels and iplayer – delivering much more to younger people”.

The shift to youth comes after a string of warnings by Ofcom, the media watchdog, that the corporation was set to lose a “generation of viewers”. In a bid to lure this sought-after generation to radio, the BBC announced 20 new podcasts and music shows earlier this month, welcoming Fearne Cotton, James Acaster and Matt Lucas as presenters. Content will cover gaming, relationships, Whatsapp, and gossip.

While the broadcaster turns its attention to these issues, it has recently lost its deputy political editor, John Pienaar, to a radio rival. The BBC has been contacted for comment.

♦ The BBC has paid out hundreds of thousands of pounds in a settlement to Samira Ahmed after she won her equal pay claim.

An employment tribunal ruled last month that Ahmed should have been paid the same for hosting Newswatch as Jeremy Vine was paid for presenting Points of View. She earned £465 per episode while he was paid up to £3,000 per episode.

Ahmed’s lawyers said she was owed £700,000 in back pay. Details of the settlement were not disclosed.