1. History
    Origins  BBC Asian Network goes national  Branding and schedule changes  Drama output  Possible closure and falling audiences   Rotherham sex abuse scandal controversy  

2. Notable presenters
    Former presenters 

3. References

4. External links

• Worldwide stream (Shoutcast, 128 Kbps MP3)

• Worldwide stream (48 Kbps AAC+)
• Worldwide stream (96 Kbps AAC+)
• UK-only stream (128 Kbps AAC)
• UK-only stream (320 Kbps AAC)

• Worldwide stream (48-96 Kbps AAC+) (adaptive bitrate)
• UK-only stream (128-320 Kbps AAC) (adaptive bitrate)

BBC Asian Network is a British radio station whose target audience are people aged 15-35 of South Asian descent (Bangladeshi/Indian/Pakistani), and/or those with an interest in South Asian affairs. The music and news comes out of the main urban areas where there are significant communities with these backgrounds. The station has production centres in London (Broadcasting House) and Birmingham (The Mailbox).

In mid 2017, BBC Asian Network's management was merged with that of BBC Radio 1Xtra. Head of BBC Asian Network Mark Strippel was given joint control of both stations, creating a super-network for two of the UK's largest ethnic minority groups.

BBC Asian Network now broadcasts mainly in English, but has retained Sunday evening shows with language content covering regions in the Indian subcontinent: India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Punjab, Bengal and Gujarat. The station's output consists largely of music and talk programmes, with a daily documentary series Asian Network Reports.^[2] Despite the name, BBC Asian Network only covers the Indian subcontinent, with countries from the rest of the continent – including developed countries like China, Japan and Singapore – not catered for.

History

Origins

BBC television had broadcast an Asian news programme, Nai Zindagi Naya Jeevan, since 1968 from its studios in Birmingham; this series followed a traditional news and current affairs format.

In 1977 BBC Radio Leicester, responding to the growth of the size of the South Asian population in Leicester, introduced a daily show aimed primarily at that community in the city. At one point the audience consisted of 67 per cent of the South Asian community in Leicester.{{Citation needed|date=January 2011}} In 1979, BBC WM, the BBC radio station for the Midlands, followed Leicester's lead and introduced a similar daily show.

On 30 October 1988 The Asian Network was launched on the MW transmitters of BBC WM and BBC Radio Leicester with a combined output of 70 hours per week, and was extended to 86 hours a week in 1995 and on 4 November 1996 the station became a full-time service, on air 18 hours a day, and was relaunched as BBC Asian Network.

BBC Asian Network goes national

On Monday 28 October 2002 it was relaunched for the DAB Digital Radio system, now broadcasting nationwide.

In January 2006, the BBC announced that they were investing an extra £1m in the BBC Asian Network, and increasing the number of full-time staff by 30% in a bid to make British South Asian interests 'a mainstream part of the corporation's output' .

Branding and schedule changes

In April 2006 the first wave of schedule changes were introduced with further changes coming into effect on 14 May and 21 May with weekend changes occurring from 17 June.^[3] In August 2007, the Asian Network received a new logo as part of a general re-brand of all national BBC stations. In 2009, this was re-branded again to add prominence to the Asian aspect of the logo.

Drama output

One of the most significant programmes in the Asian Network lineup was an ongoing Asian soap opera Silver Street which was first broadcast in 2004. Storylines focused on the lives of a British South Asian community in an English town of unspecified name and location, with themes that generally related to issues that affect the daily lives of British South Asians and their neighbours.

Following a cutting of episode lengths to five minutes per day and continued falling listenership, on 16 November 2009 the BBC announced they would be cancelling Silver Street.^[4] The last episode was broadcast in March 2010.

The cancellation grew out of many criticisms of the Asian Network in the BBC Trust's annual report. In July 2009 it was revealed that the Asian Network had lost over 20% of its listeners in a single year and, per listener, was the most costly and expensive BBC radio station to run.^[5]

Possible closure and falling audiences

On 26 February 2010 The Times reported that Mark Thompson, Director General of the BBC, proposed closing the station in a bid to scale back BBC operations and allow commercial rivals more room.^[7] The proposal of closure – along with BBC 6 Music – was later confirmed on 2 March.^[8] A letter was written to the BBC Trust and signed by various people – although the number of signatories was artificially boosted with a number of people signing their name at least more than once (as both a single name and as part of different collectives^[9]) with many AN listeners advocating keeping their station at the expense of the more popular 6 Music,^[10] although the BBC Trust later rejected plans to close 6 Music and approved the plans to close AN.^[11] On 14 March 2011, the BBC announced it was reconsidering its plan to close the station in favour of reducing its budget in half.^[12]

In 2011, the BBC ruled there would be a 46% reduction in AN's budget and a declared target of 600,000 listeners a week; with actual audience numbers only reaching 507,000.^[13] In 2012, audience numbers fell even further; peaking at only 453,000.^[14] Even with the budget reductions, in 2013 AN had the largest budget of the BBC's digital-only radio stations at £13m; despite having the lowest audience figures by far.^[15] In 2016–17, AN continued to have the highest cost-per-user of all the BBC's radio stations at 3.4p per hour^[16], the second highest budget of the BBC's digital-only radio stations at £7.5m^[17] and the lowest audience figures of all the BBC's stations.

In 2017/18, it was noted the station not only remained as having the highest cost-per-user of all the BBC radio output, but whose costs also increased – rising from 3.4p per hour the previous year to 3.7p per hour. The audience Appreciation Index figure did not increase, remaining at 80.3; and the average length of time spent on the channel dramatically fell from 06:11 to 05:19 – the biggest fall of all of the BBC's radio stations. ^[21]

Rotherham sex abuse scandal controversy

In 2018, the station's Head of News Arif Ansari was arrested and charged under the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 1992 for a reporter naming a victim of the Rotherham sex abuse scandal during a live news bulletin.^[22][23]

Notable presenters

• Nadia Ali
• Bobby Friction
• Preeya Kalidas
• Nihal
• Panjabi Hit Squad
• Waqas Saeed
• Rozina Sini

Former presenters

• Aasmah Mir
• Ameet Chana
• Anita Rani
• DJ Kayper
• Nikki Bedi
• Pathaan
• Murtz
• Nerm
• Sonia Deol
• Tommy Sandhu

References

External links

• {{bbc.co.uk|id=asiannetwork|title=BBC Asian Network}}
• Origins of BBC Asian Network
• BBC Asian Network relaunched on DAB at bbc.co.uk

• Edward Jewitt Robinson
• Edward Jełowicki
• Edward J. Gaffney
• Edward J. Garrett
• Edward J. Glennon
• Edward J Hall
• Edward J. Hall
• Edward J. Hendrick
• Edward J Hendrick
• Edward J. Hughes Jr.
• Edward Jim Orgeron Jr.
• Edward J. Kempf
• Edward J. Keyes
• Edward J. Knight
• Edward J. Kuwik
• Edward J. Lennox
• Edward J. Mannix
• Edward J. McCormack, Jr.
• Edward J. Mortola
• Edward J. Mowery
• Edward Joel Pennington
• Edward, John
• Edward John Bolus
• Edward John Burrow
• Edward John Cameron