91Èȱ¬

News coverage on Radio 5 live has 'breadth, depth, wit and intelligence', and nine out of 10 listeners rate sports coverage on the station as high quality, a review published today by the 91Èȱ¬ Trust has found.

Radio 5 live has also been praised by audiences as a reliable source for breaking news, with knowledgeable presenters who make stories accessible without trivialising them. Audiences told the Trust that sports coverage on the station is unrivalled on radio, and the review found that sports programming plays an important role in the reputation and appeal of 5 live as a whole.

The review of Radio 5 live and its digital sister station 5 live Sports Extra, is the latest in the trust's rolling programme of reviews of each 91Èȱ¬ service. It included a public consultation and audience research.

The Trust found that the balance between heavier and lighter news stories on 5 live is highly valued by audiences. In order to ensure that 5 live maximises its strengths in news, the Trust has set out clearer commitments for news on the station, including that discussion and other feature items on the station should be clearly driven by news or a topical issue. These commitments sit alongside the requirement that three quarters of 5 live's output should be news and current affairs.

Audiences believe that the range of sports on the station is broadly right, although there is recognition that the station could do more to cover sports that commercial radio does not. Given the 91Èȱ¬'s responsibility to cover a broad range of sports, the Trust has said it would like 5 live to build on its commitment to non-mainstream or minority sports.

91Èȱ¬ Trustee Alison Hastings, who led the review, said:

"In a year that has seen so many major news stories hit the headlines, it's great to see that 5 live's approach to news coverage and breaking news really stands out for listeners. We've set out ways in which we think 5 live could build on this to ensure that all of its journalism continues to meet the high standards that audiences expect.

"The station also has an unmatched reputation for sports coverage among licence fee payers. Given the 91Èȱ¬'s unique position we think the station could do more to cover the less mainstream sports that other stations can't, and we look to the Executive to decide how best to achieve this."

Other findings of the review include:

• 5 live's reputation as the 91Èȱ¬'s radio station for breaking news is a real strength, and audiences see 5 live as a reliable and up-to-the minute source of information for many major news events;
• Given the station's core priority to cover news, the Trust would like to see fewer 'non-news' features in news programmes, particularly when there are important news topics to cover;
• Audiences praised the high levels of interactivity offered by 5 live, with more than 2,000 listeners making contact with the station on a typical day;
• Both Radio 5 live and 5 live Sports Extra are performing well, with 6.7 million listeners to 5 live, 20 per cent of whom do not listen to any other 91Èȱ¬ radio station.

As part of the review, the Trust also concluded that it is broadly content with the proposals under  that affect 5 live and Sports Extra, and concluded that broadly they are an appropriate way for savings to be made. The exception to this is the plan to reduce current affairs programming, which the Trust have asked the 91Èȱ¬ Executive to retain. The other proposals from the 91Èȱ¬ Executive include reducing the cost of overnight programming, using smaller teams of presenters at sports events, reducing 5 live's team of regional journalists in England and working more closely with other parts of 91Èȱ¬ News.

On 25 January the Trust published its interim findings on Delivering Quality First; final conclusions are expected to be published later this spring.

Notes to Editors

1. The review's conclusions can be found here
2. The Trust's Delivering Quality First interim findings, published on 25 January, can be found here
3. Delivering Quality First is a set of proposals from the 91Èȱ¬ Executive for changes to the services the 91Èȱ¬ provides and the way it operates. The proposals follow a consultation with staff launched in January 2011, to determine how the 91Èȱ¬ could deliver against the strategy the Trust set for it within the terms of a new licence fee settlement, which sees the licence fee frozen at its current level until 2016/17.