Call for quotas as output falls 17 per cent

Producers are demanding that broadcast watchdogs order Radio 4 to broadcast a minimum amount of comedy each year, after output fell 17 per cent.

In 2018 the corporation vowed to air 180 hours of comedy on Radio 4 – but this has fallen to 150 hours in this year.

It came after regulator Ofcom took on oversight of the broadcaster from the BBC Trust

Now trade body AudioUK has called on the watchdog to reinstate quotas for both comedy and drama. The latter has seen an even more dramatic fall from 600 hours in 2016/17 to 300 now.

Managing director Chloe Straw said: ‘Audio drama and comedy are hugely important for developing new producing, writing, acting, presenting and directing talent.

‘We realise the BBC is undergoing some financial pressures, nevertheless this doesn’t explain such a significant reduction in these key genres. We are therefore calling on Ofcom to reinstate its quotas.

And she added that comedy ‘helps the BBC to remain distinctive’ adding: ‘Comedy offers the opportunity for people to share their lived experiences through humour.’

AudioUK’s intervention comes in response to the Ofcom drafting a new operating licence which requires only to ‘provide a wide breadth of output covering a range of genres and content types, including arts, religion, ethics, documentaries, drama and comedy’ – without any specific commitments.

Their submission also noted that comedy was a key genre when it comes to ‘hear[ing] from a more diverse range of perspectives, particularly as they are genres in which the wider market does not significantly provide content. If the opportunity to produce for these genres continues to diminish, then the risk is that the range of content becomes more and more narrow.’

Ofcom is currently consulting the industry on the draft document.

Published: 22 Sep 2022