If the reports that the BBC will close down 6 Music are true, it is a great shame. Of course, this could be seen coming. The BBC has been utterly weak in almost every respect for the past few years, and it is difficult to escape the notion that it is too big, with too many outlets. Of course, when effectively forced to cut back, it will opt to close down the high quality products, rather than those that are merely popular.

6 Music is the only mainstream radio station where you can regularly hear genuinely experimental and alternative music on a regular basis. It is the only station that confounds expectations and delights in challenging the listener.

The Freak Zone is a jewel in 6 Music’s crown, dedicated to playing esoteric music from today and undiscovered gems from the past. For sure, it is a challenging listen at times — but that is the very point.

Similarly, Jarvis Cocker’s Sunday Service is truly unique. One of the most eclectic playlists I have ever heard is mixed with ponderings on, for instance, the sad beauty of abandoned Christmas trees.

I have effused before about Adam and Joe, which I think was genuinely the best programme on radio. These are just three of the must-listen radio programmes that 6 Music has brought us.

6 Music should have broadened its horizons

There is simply no commercial alternative. In short, it is precisely the sort of thing that the BBC should be doing.

In fact, I have in the past been critical of 6 Music for not being adventurous enough in the past. The BBC does, after all, already have three other major music radio stations, each of which is dedicated to playing different strands of mainstream music. There is, of course, nothing wrong with that. But this should have provided 6 Music with the opportunity to explore the outer reaches of music more freely.

Instead, 6 Music has ended up being slightly unsure of its role. It has come to attain a dual identity. One is that of a genuinely exploratory musical agenda, for discerning listeners who are passionate about the music they already love, and are itching to discover new music.

The other is that of a mere weakened popular music station with a vague indie bent. This aspect made it like a transition station for listeners who have moved on from Radio 1 but can’t yet bring themselves to listen to Radio 2. Hence the travesty of George Lamb. There are plenty of commercial alternatives for these people to turn to. This is an audience that doesn’t need to be catered for by the BBC.

Instead of trying to gain listeners with gimmicky attempts to cater for the masses, 6 Music should have set its sights higher by increasing its quality. It could be transformed into a station that is genuinely dedicated to music that you won’t find on other radio stations.

And there is no need to stop at music. It could encompass culture as a whole. Why shouldn’t such a station also champion alternative comedy, experimental drama and the like? It could be like a well funded version of Resonance FM.

Instead, the BBC appears to have taken the coward’s option. Instead of setting its sights towards enhancing the station so that it becomes a great hub for alternative and experimental culture, it has weakly chosen to throw in the towel. Instead of realising the potential of 6 Music and promoting it properly, the BBC has left it in a corner to gather cobwebs and eventually die.

The BBC’s disregard for experimental culture

This would be palatable if it weren’t for the fact that experimental music has been increasingly marginalised on the BBC’s other radio stations over the past decade as well. As if the passing of John Peel wasn’t enough of a blow to adventurous music on the BBC, the corporation appears to be determined to dismantle every last piece of its experimental music programming.

A decade ago Radio 1’s evening schedule was brimming with experimental music. But the station’s few remaining programmes dedicated to experimental music have all been shunted to shorter, graveyard time slots. To take just one example, Rob da Bank’s programme is on at the truly insulting 5-7am on a Saturday. Meanwhile, Mary Anne Hobbs’s Breezeblock is on at 2-4am on Thursday morning.

New experimental music has all but disappeared from Radio 3 as well. Since Mixing It was removed from the schedules, all that has remained is Late Junction, which has itself been marginalised in recent years.

In short, the BBC is doing less of the sort of programming it should be making, and replacing it with the sort of thing that ought to be left to its commercial rivals.

Absolute to the rescue?

The Times suggested that Absolute Radio may be interested in buying 6 Music should the BBC decide to close it down. It seems to me as though Clive Dickens was merely making a point about the inefficient way the BBC has run 6 Music.

But the idea that Absolute might acquire 6 Music and keep it alive is an interesting prospect. I have find myself being increasingly impressed with Absolute. I am sure that it has taken inspiration from 6 Music as it tries to re-build itself without the Virgin brand behind it.

Like 6 Music, Absolute thinks of itself as a home for good music (although in practice it just trots out middle-of-the-road dad rock). It mixes this with the use of comedians like Dave Gorman, Frank Skinner and Iain Lee as presenters.

This is the exact model that 6 Music has used throughout its existence. The station was launched by Phill Jupitus, who presented the 6 Music breakfast show for several years. Since then, 6 Music has been home to several comedians.

I find it doubtful that a radio station like 6 Music would flourish as a commercial operation. But if anyone can pull it off, it is Absolute. It would be fabulous.

The BBC has failed to convincingly promote digital radio. The lack of publicity is the real reason why 6 Music has so few listeners. Fewer than 10% of Radio 1 listeners are listening on a digital platform. When 6 Music is only available on digital platforms, it is no wonder it appears to perform so poorly. Only one in five people in the UK have even heard of the station. Hence Adam Buxton’s joke that it is “the secret station”.

Yet, over 54% of Absolute Radio’s listeners (approximately 31 minutes in) outside of London now listen on digital. The BBC, with all its supposed marketing might, has failed to generate anything like this sort of result, despite having shedloads of cash dedicated to the exercise.

The BBC is now weak and ineffective. It has failed digital radio, and it is now failing to commit to the very adventurous programming it is supposed to be dedicated to.

The country lurches back into its usual routine this week. But with the new year comes changes, and a vital part of everyone’s daily life — the radio — will seem very different.

My parents are concerned about what will happen to Radio 2 after the departure of Terry Wogan from breakfast. They were not happy to hear that his replacement will be Chris Evans. My parents originally stopped listening to Radio 1 when Chris Evans took over the Radio 1 breakfast show. (Quite how they tolerated Steve Wright before this is beyond me though.)

I get the feeling that they will stick with Radio 2. Chris Evans is a very different broadcaster to what he was ten or fifteen years ago and has apparently pleased most people with his performances on Radio 2 so far.

While Terry Wogan’s last show was the one that caught all the headlines, the end of two other radio programmes will be far more disruptive to my routine. I was not a listener of Terry Wogan’s, though I don’t suppose I am really part of his target audience.

The end of Adam and Joe

Much bigger news in my world has been the end of Adam and Joe’s programme on BBC 6 Music. They are raising the drawbridge at the Big British Castle for an indefinite period while Joe Cornish focuses on his new career as a film director.

This programme has been a core part of my week for the past two years. It is also unusual because due to its Saturday morning time slot, it has been the only thing that has managed to get me to wake up at a decent hour on a Saturday.

Adam and Joe have an excellent knack of doing a type of humour which is silly but not stupid — a balance that very few manage to strike. This made it ideal listening for the start of the weekend. It was perhaps something to gently lift you out of a mild hangover. The accompanying podcast was also excellent for lifting spirits during your journey into work.

Their gentle humour was mixed with sharp observations on popular culture. Increasingly, towards the end of the programme’s run, listener contributions were a larger part of the programme. Combined with the programme’s elite listening force Black Squadron and the STEPHEN! phenomenon, there was quite a tight-knit community feel to the show.

This was no doubt helped by the fact that it was on BBC 6 Music, jokingly referred to by Adam Buxton as “the secret station”. Even though it was the most popular programme on the station by quite a long way, due to its location in the outer reaches of select DAB sets, Adam and Joe’s was a cosy and understated programme. It is difficult to imagine Adam and Joe’s programme working so well on another, larger radio station.

Adam and Joe’s replacement will be Danny Wallace, who is not quite in the same league. It will leave a huge gap in my Saturday mornings. What else can I listen to? Saturday Live on Radio 4? Sorry, not for me. Jonathan Ross on Radio 2? Possibly. Or will I return to my old ‘default’ radio station, Radio 5 Live, for Danny Baker and Fighting Talk?

Changes at Radio 5 Live

Speaking of Radio 5 Live, that is the source of the other big change to my radio routine. Richard Bacon has vacated the late-night slot to take over from Simon Mayo, who is moving to replace Chris Evans on Drivetime at Radio 2.

I was a fan of Richard Bacon during his first stint on 5 Live in the weekend late-night slot, and he continued to delight when he returned to the station to do weeknights. Given his background, he is surprisingly good at dealing with big issues as well as light-hearted stuff.

He is also unafraid to use humour. It could be so embarrassing (and some would probably say it is), but I think it works well. The interesting bit after 12:30am was entertaining and brave. I can’t think of many other presenters who would get away with completely doing away with news for half an hour every day on Radio 5 Live.

I am greatly regretful that I never managed to get my hands on one of those badges. It was nevertheless an honour and a privilege to listen.

Richard Bacon’s irreverence is what makes him good as a broadcaster, but it’s difficult to see how he can leverage this in his new mid-afternoon slot, one of the most important in 5 Live’s schedule. Most disappointingly, it will be on during the daytime, meaning that I won’t be able to listen to it.

The replacement in the late night slot will be former Daily Sport editor Tony Livesey. I will reserve judgement until I hear the programme. I gather he is actually quite good. But if I don’t take to it, I might take the unusual step of switching to a commercial radio station during weeknights to listen to Iain Lee on Absolute Radio.

Richard Bacon’s move is part of a wider shake-up at Radio 5 Live, which also sees Gabby Logan getting a daily slot. With the day going from the Nicky Campbell Speak You’re Branes hour to Victoria Derbyshire to Gabby Logan, it’s not difficult to see why some people have started to nickname the station Radio 5 Lite.

It’s not quite the quality station I loved just a few years ago. Just now Radio 5 Live seems utterly bereft of ideas, aside from attempting to stealthily change it into a 24/7 Mark Kermode station. At least Up All Night is still good.

If I was being uncharitable, I might suggest that the presenters that remain at the station are the ones who are prepared to make the move to Salford when the station relocates there next year. The logic behind moving a radio station that covers news (most of which happens in London) to Manchester is still beyond me, I have to admit.

On the bright side…

It’s not all bad news on the radio front. In addition to his new daytime Radio 5 Live slot, Richard Bacon has a Saturday afternoon programme on 6 Music. He promises to take some of the jollity of his late night 5 Live show to 6 Music. But who listens to radio at that time? Not me.

I might make space in my Sunday afternoons for 6 Music though. Jarvis Cocker will have a new programme alongside the already-excellent Freak Zone.

But weekend mornings will still be a problem. And I’ll need a new comedy podcast to replace Adam and Joe. Does anyone have any suggestions? (Not Collings and Herrin — I tried it, and it was crap.)

This guide is all about how to watch a Grand Prix. You might be thinking, “how hard can that be?” You would be right — all you really have to do is switch the telly on and sit back. But sometimes that just isn’t enough.

The approach I outline in this post will not be for everyone. For many, it will be too stressful. For some it will be a case of information overload. Often it’s information overload for me! But somehow just watching the race on television just feels wrong. I need all the extra bits. In time for the European season, here is how to extract the most from a Grand Prix. It’s worth remembering that most of these options are also available during practice sessions and qualifying.

Radio

Most people watch the race on television, but have you thought about radio? This can be very useful for two reasons. First of all, you can switch on the radio whenever ITV goes to a commercial break — this way you will hear live if something major happens. Secondly, if you really can’t stand James Allen, it might be worth turning the volume down on the TV and giving the radio commentary a whirl.

You will be best off with a DAB Digital Radio. This way you will be capable of picking up BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra. The Grand Prix may be on either station. Radio 5 Live can be picked up with a coat hanger, but here the race is more likely to be interrupted by periodic updates from the football / golf / tennis / you name it. 5 Live Sports Extra is a digital-only station, but the race is more likely to be uninterrupted here.

It depends on my mood, but often I will opt to listen to the BBC Radio commentary rather than put up with ITV’s coverage. However, if you do this be prepared for a slight annoyance. Usually, the radio is a couple of seconds ahead of the TV coverage so you will hear the action before you see it.

Qualifying and practice sessions are also often covered on Radio 5 Live Sports Extra. Check the schedule here.

Live video feed

For the first time this year, ITV are providing live online coverage of practice sessions, qualifying and the race. (Programmes broadcast on ITV are also available to watch on the ‘catch up‘ service for 30 days.)

Unfortunately, Saturday practice wasn’t included in ITV’s agreement, but Friday practice sessions are shown in full. What you get is essentially a clean FOM feed. There is no commentary, which is possibly a good thing. But if you prefer commentary you can always listen to the radio at the same time.

Qualifying and the race are also covered live online, but don’t think it will be a way to avoid the adverts. During the race the online feed is essentially the ITV1 London feed, with adverts and all. However, here is a good tip. After the chequered flag is waved, the feed switches to the FOM feed.

If you want to immerse yourself in F1 for as long as possible, watch this. After the podium ceremony a short highlights package is shown. Then you see the press conference live and in full. This is certainly more than you get on the television. I usually record ITV’s post-race analysis to watch the FOM feed, then catch up on Blundell’s mangling of the English language after.

One major drawback is the poor quality of ITV’s online feed. Even during practice sessions the feed can stutter and stall to the point where you are several minutes behind the live action. ITV must improve this for future races.

Official live timing

For the past few seasons, the official Formula 1 website has carried a live timing facility. It has become a staple for the wired Formula 1 fan. The live timing screen gives you access to a lot of the same information that the teams and commentators use, and it is surprising what you can learn about the race from the live timing screen.

Full instructions are on the Formula 1 website, but the basics are simple. Times in white have just been set (they are the most recent information to come from that driver), times in green are personal bests and purple times are the fastest overall. This is the origin on the phrase “to go purple”, which people sometimes say when a driver has set the fastest time.

For me, live timing is a must. However, it suffers from a similar problem to radio, but even worse. Because of the broadcast delays (especially on digital television), TV and radio can be noticeably behind live timing — sometimes by as much as ten seconds. This is especially problematic during qualifying, as the tension as the driver comes up to the finish line is rather dissipated by the fact that you have already seen the result on live timing.

Live telemetry

Renault are very good about this sort of thing — they have a system that basically lets you watch the race live from the viewpoint of the Renault team. A circuit diagram shows you where the Renault drivers are right at that second. But most impressively, you can see live telemetry of both drivers. It is a refreshingly open approach — if only other teams were like this!

However, the Renault telemetry is not without its problems. First of all, as Sidepodcast noted just yesterday, the website is now rather bloated and buggy. One little niggle I have is the fact that the site was obviously originally written in French then translated into English rather hurriedly as snippets of French are littered all over the place. Also, the service fills up the entire screen and there is no way to change this. That is a bit annoying if you have several windows at once, as I do during a Grand Prix.

This is a great service, but ultimately there are better things to be keeping your eye on. If you are a Renault fan, though, it must be a joy. I really wish other teams would offer similar services.

Liveblog

If you have been reading vee8 before, you may have noticed that each session has its own liveblog. These are set up by Keith from the excellent F1Fanatic blog using a nifty facility, CoveritLive. A number of prominent F1 bloggers are involved, and it’s the place to go for informed comment and chat throughout the race.

The liveblog can be particularly useful for gathering up information from people’s knowledge and experience. And because many people use the liveblog around the world, it is also the place to gather insight into what commentators around the world are saying.

This has often meant that we knew about certain events before the ITV commentary team did. For instance, during the Australian Grand Prix we knew pretty quickly that Rubens Barrichello had run a red light — several laps before the ITV crew knew about it. The screenshot attached here shows another instance where information from BBC Radio 5 Live was posted on the liveblog to enlighten the livebloggers.

There are liveblogs for every Formula 1 session. Keep an eye on this blog to participate in them.

Twitter

Twitter can also be a place to pick up on some extra insight. During some races there are a few people updating, but other races can be quite lonely. I think as Twitter becomes more popular throughout the year more and more people will be using it to discuss the race. Follow my Twitter updates for vee8 here.

Anything else?

Are there any other novel ways of following the Formula 1 action? Post your thoughts in the comments.