BBC gives up battle for radio to focus on fighting off Spotify and podcasting

Former Assistant Editor

BBC‘s director of radio James Purnell has declared that the network has given up competing with commercial radio stations, and will instead prioritise its ongoing battle for listeners with podcasting and streaming services like Spotify.

As The Telegraph reports, Purnell doesn’t “care” about audience share or the continued exodus of listeners to commercial stations like LBC.

Rather, he believes the BBC needs to shift away from traditional broadcast programming to serve younger audiences.

“We need to change faster than we have in the last few years,” he said.

“We’ll need to change where we allocate our money. We’ll need to change the kind of content we offer.”

Purnell believes investing in technology and the battle against Spotify is more important as a means of continuing the BBC’s mission.

“I don’t care about share. I don’t care about beating Global, Bauer or Wireless in the RAJARs. We care about the future of British audio.

“Fortunately the technology is solving that problem. In future, we can play it on our radio app. Our money can follow the audience.”

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