Singer claims BBC 6 Music campaign saw Asian Network's plight overlooked
The man who walked backwards for 120 miles in aid of the Asian Network believes the media focus on stars like Lily Allen knocked the Birmingham station’s campaign out of the spotlight.
Ranvir Singh Verma was so outraged about the BBC’s proposals to close the Asian Network, he walked backwards from London to Birmingham in a bid to highlight its plight.
Despite the Save the Asian Network campaign enlisting celebrities like Amir Khan and Jay Sean, Mr Verma said the Asian stars “did not have as much clout” with the mainstream media as the celebrity supporters of sister station 6 Music, which was also under threat.
Mr Verma, frontman of band Universal Taal, suffered shin splints and blisters as a result of his backwards walk, but his physical ordeal failed to convince the BBC Trust to grant the Asian Network a reprieve.
In contrast 6 Music, which the BBC also wanted to close, attracted a surge in listeners after staging a vociferous celebrity-backed media campaign resulting in the BBC Trust saying it was not convinced by the case for its closure.
Despite the support of Jay Sean, the British-born musician who last year made it to the top of the US charts, the Asian Network’s campaign failed to take off in the same way, Mr Verma said.
“We had high-profile people like Jay Sean and Amir Khan on board but it did not receive the same media attention,” he said.
“They [BBC 6 Music] mobilised people like Lily Allen but the Asian artists don’t seem to have as much clout, which is disappointing really.”
Mr Verma said the station offered a unique mix of current affairs, discussion and music which gave a sense of belonging to listeners.
“It’s like an umbrella for the Asian community,” he said. “In terms of people listening in isolated areas, it’s the only communication they have with the Asian diaspora.”
A move to axe the Asian Network would threaten 83 staff, 46 of whom work in Birmingham where the majority of the national station’s content is produced.
The BBC Trust said the service was “performing poorly,” with its reach declining from 18 per cent of Asian adults to 12 per cent in 2009, which amounts to around 300,000 a week.
A spokeswoman for the Asian Network said there were plans to replace the station with local stations, where staff could be redeployed.
“In light of the trust’s interim conclusions, we will proceed to detailed plans for the closure of the Asian Network which will need to be put to the BBC Trust for approval,” she said.
“As we said in March, we believe we can continue to serve Asian audiences in other ways and we are looking to replace the Asian Network with a range of local services. The BBC management would be looking first at its existing teams to create this local content, so there is a strong likelihood that there will be job opportunities for many of the existing staff. “
The trust’s conclusions on the Asian Network come as listeners to local commercial radio stations in the West Midlands are seeing a reduction in the amount of local programming following a change in the law.
Beacon Radio owner Orion Media has followed in the footsteps of Smooth Radio and Heart by reducing local content across the West Midlands.
The station previously ran 10 hours a day of separate programmes on Beacon Shropshire, but now it will share the same schedule with Beacon Radio West Midlands.
Like other broadcasters in the region, it has taken advantage of the Digital Economy Act which has ushered in greater deregulation in the local radio sector.
GMG Radio last week announced that Smooth Radio West Midlands would cease broadcasting locally and merge with other regions to form a national station.
And Heart FM owner Global Radio brought in changes that will mean West Midland listeners will lose three hours of local content a day, leaving just breakfast and drive time shows and news bulletins broadcast from Birmingham.
Phil Riley, chief executive of Orion Media, said the changes at Beacon were a result of the new legislation, but that news and weather would still be kept separate for the two stations.
“They have made slightly larger local areas that we are allowed to run and simulcast programme from,” he said.
